Picking Up the Pieces
by notenoughpotter
Summary: After Damon convinces a reluctant Stefan to leave his exile, things quickly go wrong when Stefan's reunited with Elena.  The outcome leaves Elena shattered, and Damon is there to pick up the pieces.  Alt version of S3
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This is dark and angsty, even for me. You're going to have to blame this one on my husband and daughter, though. We were listening to the radio in the car, and I mentioned I could just hear "Someone Like You" by Adele on TVD this coming season. My family members got a little carried away, and soon we'd mapped out this scene (which I desperately hope won't happen on the show...but it really seems much too plausible for my taste).

We've played this game before. Have your playlists at the ready. I'll tell where to start the sad music. Today's song is, as I mentioned before, "Someone Like You" by Adele.

Warnings: Mature, ADULT content (but not what y'all are thinking), crude language, character death, bloodplay

Just one last word of warning. I think my current stressed-out mood has overtaken my writing. This is REALLY angsty.

If you're still here, grab your tissues (and alcohol if you're of age). Music at the ready? Let's go...

"You're ready to leave, you know." Damon walked into the damp cellar room and pointedly left the steel door standing wide open behind him. He watched the slow rise and fall of his brother's shoulders as Stefan's attention remained fixed on the barren dirt floor beneath him. "What are you hoping to accomplish by staying here? Doing penance?"

Stefan muttered something low and unintelligible, even to Damon's ears, as he spun slowly on the well-cushioned cot and faced the wall.

"By staying here, you're only hurting her." Damon looked around the room. The agony Elena felt at the part she played in trapping her former lover in this place was evident. Knowing Stefan would likely be an unwilling captive in the Salvatore-detox-dungeon for an extended period of time, she'd insisted that Damon help her make the room _comfortable. _

From the downy pad atop the cot to the stack of DVDs next to the small television, Elena's mind-blowing level of concern for his tortured and wasted brother was evident in every minute detail of the room.

And Stefan had used none of it.

When Damon had tossed his brother's unconscious form into the cell and slid the heavy iron bar closed, she'd chewed her lip so hard it began to bleed. She waited, her breaths coming with torturously slow intensity, for Stefan to give the faintest sign of waking - convinced they'd given him too much vervain. Beyond high on his bloodlust, he'd been so strong, he'd fought through five of the vials Alaric had prepared before he even blinked.

Without Caroline and Bonnie at his side, Damon would have lost the battle...and Elena had watched it all.

Of course, that wasn't the worst thing she'd seen this summer.

As time went on, and Klaus discovered Elena was alive, he seemed to delight in taunting her. That's when the pictures and videos began arriving. Elena had opened the first, thinking that some memory of her had broken through Stefan's confused mind.

Damon had been downstairs when he'd heard the feral grunts coming from the video of his brother. The video was dark, but a light shone on Stefan...and the naked blonde girl beneath him. Stefan's groans of pleasure perfectly timed with each time his body struck against the girl. His fangs were buried deep in her neck, the blood obscuring his face. When he came, he let out an animalistic growl. That was when Damon tugged the phone out of her trembling fingers - her sobs masked the girl's whimpering cries before Elena had the chance to realize the horror...Stefan's victim was still very much alive. The girl turned her eyes to the camera, clearly begging Klaus to end her torture, as her shoulders shook beneath his brother.

The brother Damon never truly believed existed.

The brother Elena was convinced could still be saved.

Each photograph, letter, video she received tore more deeply into her soul until her friends and remaining family formed an impenetrable barrier around her, not letting her be alone for an instant. Every time her phone pinged with the alert she'd received a message her hand would tighten around Damon's. As she became a shadow of herself, he'd refused to leave her side.

"This is killing her, you know that." Damon couldn't believe it had come to this. He was begging his brother to leave the room...to rejoin the woman Damon loved more than his own life. The only woman who truly ever loved him. The one who'd never admit to that passion she felt because she refused to become the woman who shared her face.

"Is this why Katherine let him kill her, so you could sit here and rot?" When Katherine had seen the last video and watched the animal Stefan had become, she couldn't stand it any longer.

Knowing Klaus' obsession with Elena, she'd straightened her hair and borrowed Elena's clothes. They only needed a minute...or so they thought...just enough time to distract the original Original while Caroline, Damon, and Ric fought to subdue Stefan and pull him from Klaus' side.

But his brother hadn't wanted to go - not until he saw Elena, the _real _Elena. Somehow she'd known he'd fight. She'd been able to see something in Stefan's eyes visible to no one else, and she'd insisted on coming.

When Stefan had Damon down, his hand plunging into his brother's chest, she'd stepped into the clearing. Everything blurred as Stefan sped to Elena's side.

But his arms wrapped around Elena didn't signal a joyous reunion.

He was killing her.

His fangs sunk so deeply in Elena's neck, she didn't even have time to cry out.

Bonnie was ready. Although weakened from her battle with Klaus, she didn't hesitate as she turned and took on Stefan with every ounce of strength her mind possessed. Blood streaming down her face, she focused all her energy on bringing Stefan to his knees.

And then she dropped. Now she laid in a bed in Mystic Falls General - not dead, but not fully alive. Damon had seen her just that morning when Elena wanted to visit her friend. Bonnie's eyes stared fixedly at the ceiling while Jeremy held her hand in his. He'd lost his love to save his sister.

Too much loss.

Damon turned to leave but a whisper behind him stilled him in his tracks.

"She's still here?" The first true words his brother had spoken in the month of his confinement, and Damon wasn't certain which she he meant.

"Katherine's dead." Damon watched the regret play over Stefan's face. The blood of a doppleganger had proven to be the only way to take Klaus down. "But Elena's still here. She's pacing so much, she's trying to wear a hole in the living room floor."

The cot creaked as its burden was lifted. Stefan blurred out the doorway.

Mumbled cries.

Sounds of a tearful reunion.

Ric was up there...waiting. If Stefan so much as breathed wrong, Elena's almost-uncle wouldn't hesitate to take him down. Damon didn't move until he heard their steps upon the wooden stairs. Knowing what Damon planned to do today, Caroline sat waiting in the bedroom next to Stefan's.

(Cue music...)

Climbing the stairs, Damon slowly made his way back into the living room. Ric pressed a bottle of bourbon into his palm. "You don't have to stay."

Even Ric could hear Elena's words of comfort...of reassurance as Stefan's muffled sobs drifted down from above. "We won't let him hurt her."

The sounds changed and softened until they were only audible to a vampire's ears.

A moan.

Elena's sigh as she yielded into Stefan's embrace, offering herself in comfort to the man she was uncertain she truly loved, but refused to leave...because she didn't want to be Katherine.

A zipper.

Clothing landed on the floor above with a soft thud.

The glass bottle cracked beneath Damon's grip.

Ric's eyes flicked to the ceiling as Stefan's bed creaked from above. Damon's eyes darkened as he fought for control. "You should leave." He took a step closer to his friend. As he'd watched Damon shelter Elena through one of the darkest periods of her young life, he'd become aware of how much the woman meant to the vampire. "Don't torture yourself."

Damon downed the rest of the bottle in one long gulp. "I have to." He'd seen the monster within his brother. It was only a matter of time before something awakened the beast they'd only so recently tamed. And when that time came, Elena would shatter again.

And Damon would be there to pick up the pieces.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: So, after many requests, I've decided to go ahead and try to pull a little more out of this story. Since it closely aligns with Graduation Day, I'll probably hold of on updating that one till next week.

Keep watching for a few more one-shots. I have a couple I'm working on right now.

As you're reading, remember that we were existing solely in Damon's POV during the first chapter. Things aren't exactly as they seem.

Warnings: Mature - adult content, blood, language, violence, sensitive subject matter

* * *

><p>The side door to the boardinghouse squeaked closed as Caroline stepped from the house, but the solitary figure leaning against the half-wall didn't stir. Elena had tried to allow her exit to go unnoticed, but when there are three vampires in the house, that was almost impossible.<p>

Since one of the vampires was contentedly sleeping upstairs and the other was drinking himself in to oblivion, the task of checking on her friend fell to Caroline.

"Elena?" Caroline joined her friend's silent vigil.

Elena continued staring into nothingness as she was bathed in the orange glow of the hour before sunset. A bee circled her head, and she didn't even flinch. She just stood there - almost transfixed by the mixture of green and orange leaves rattling overhead in the branches of the oak trees.

Not exactly the mood Caroline expected to be radiating from the young woman who'd just spent three hours in the arms of the boyfriend she'd been pining away for during the four months of his absence. Judging by the sounds coming from Stefan's room, Elena should be in a very good mood right now - not just standing here, fixed in one spot, for the last half hour.

"Elena." Caroline spoke louder and shook her companion's shoulder.

Elena jumped as if fireworks had just gone off next to her feet. She turned in surprise and almost began to run away, but then she realized who was standing next to her. "Oh, Caroline." She blinked in shock.

"Jumpy much?"

Elena shook her head and tucked her hair behind her right ear. "Sorry. Old habits..." Most of the past year had been spent with Elena looking behind her shoulder for enemies that really did exist, so Caroline didn't really blame her, but still...not the vibe Caroline planned to find when she walked outside. In fact, she'd mainly come outside in deference to Damon, since she'd thought Elena would have been wanting to share a play by play of her reunion with Stefan.

At least that's what the old Elena would have wanted to do.

Caroline still wasn't certain about this new Elena. She'd barely recovered from losing Jenna and John before she almost lost Damon and _did_ lose Stefan. Caroline wasn't sure which life-altering act affected Elena more, and she knew that same unanswered question hung over Elena as well.

Elena had found it simple to focus on finding Stefan, allowing that drive to propel her through the blinding grief of losing another family member, fine tuning her anxiety so that she didn't have to face the implications of what else had happened that night.

If she focused on Stefan, she could ignore what happened between her and Damon. Even more, she could conveniently overlook the words of comfort she'd offered Damon that night...and the fact that she'd meant them.

Caroline was surprised that Elena had even admitted her confession to Damon to her, but on a dark and lonely night when it was Caroline's turn to Elena-sit, she'd realized her friend wasn't really asleep. Just like when they were sleeping over at each other's houses when they were 10, Caroline had sensed her friend's despair and despite the overly-warm summer night, she'd slid under the covers and sat there until Elena could no longer pretend everything was alright. Finally, Elena had been overcome by her guilt and had to reach out to someone.

Caroline had been more than a little surprised to hear Elena's words, but she had to admit she wasn't completely surprised.

What did surprise her was how deeply the words she'd spoken to Damon had wounded her friend. If Stefan hadn't disappeared the same night, Caroline strongly suspected Elena would have a different reason to feel conflicted right now.

At this moment, that reason was standing in front of the fireplace after downing an entire bottle of bourbon.

Right now, though, Caroline needed to understand her friend. She'd promised them she'd be careful. They'd all warned her that this was no longer _her _Stefan. And yet, after only 30 seconds of being in the same room with him, she'd willingly traipsed up the stairs after him.

Caroline sighed. Elena had never been able to resist Stefan, even when she wanted to.

She glared at her friend's profile.

Ric hadn't been brave enough to do it.

Damon had been too much of a martyr to do it.

Apparently you couldn't send a man to do a woman's job.

Yanking Elena by the shoulder, she spun her around until the women were standing face to face. "What the _hell _did you think you were doing?" Caroline gestured wildly in the direction of Stefan's bedroom windows. "Didn't we go over this? You knew the rules. Rule number one, stay downstairs. Rule number two, in the event rule number one is broken, stay vertical." Caroline's eyes flickered for a moment in her anger at Elena. "Did you _watch _the little home movies Klaus sent? He could have hurt you, and none of us could have gotten there in time." She whispered the last few words as Elena's brow began to furrow.

"Caroline," Elena shook her head in a look of complete confusion, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Caroline frowned. It was one thing for Elena to have lied to her back when she was trying to keep the secret about the vampire brothers from terrifying the town, but this was another story. "Really? What part of playing _I'll show you mine if you show me yours _met the safety rules."

Elena slowly blinked back at Caroline. Shaking her head back and forth, she narrowed her deep brown eyes. "I don't understand. We went upstairs, but we just talked for a minute. Stefan was upset. He didn't want to talk in front of Damon and Ric."

"A minute?" Caroline pointed at the sky. "Have you looked at the sky?"

"Yes." Elena turned back to the sky and stared at it with the same expression she used in Coach Dillon's physics class.

That's when the first inkling of fear radiated up Caroline's spine. "Elena?" Her voice was soft, her grip on her friend's arm hesitant. "Can you tell me what you talked about?"

Elena blinked. "Stefan was sorry. He knew he had to save Damon - no matter what that meant he had to do. It was his fault." She looked blankly at a spider crawling down the bricks over Caroline's shoulder.

"And that's all?"

Elena nodded.

"That's all you said...for three hours?"

Once again, Elena nodded in agreement, her face strangely blank.

Caroline swallowed, even though she didn't need to, somehow it helped prepare her for her next words. "Elena, are you still drinking vervain tea?"

Elena chewed her lip, knowing she'd been caught. "You and Damon kept getting hurt. I couldn't do much, but I thought..."

"You'd be our walking vampire Capri-sun. Smart, Elena, really smart." That was a lecture for another day. The wind picked up and Elena's dark hair fluttered in the breeze. The scent of Elena's rosemary-mint shampoo drifted to Caroline's sharpened senses...along with something else.

Caroline had grown accustomed to a certain dull scent of blood in the air, especially at the high school. At any given moment, at least one of her female classmates gave her a reason to test the limits of her control.

Maybe that was why she didn't notice it at first, but she'd spent the day with Elena...and she didn't remember it from before. Caroline studied either side of Elena's neck, nothing.

"Is there anything you're not telling me? All you did was talk?"

"All we did was talk," Elena parroted back, her eyes vaguely unfocused.

No. He _wouldn't. _"You have something on your collar." Caroline reached for Elena's short-sleeved black sweater. Elena took a step back, but the vampire was faster...and stronger. As Elena tried to hold the sweater in place, Caroline cautiously took hold of her wrist and wrenched the sweater from her grasp.

Peeling it back, it clung to Elena's skin as if she'd been dripping with sweat.

But the crimson stain running across Elena's back and shoulder wasn't sweat.

Tentatively, she pulled the hem of the shirt up to expose Elena's back completely. "No." Caroline fought a mixture of revulsion and desire as the blood leaked slowly from the wound on the back of Elena's shoulderblade. Not merely a bite, an entire section of skin and muscle was gone.

No wonder Elena looked as if she was about to lose her battle with gravity.

"Talk? Don't try to protect him, Elena. What is this?" Caroline held the shirt away to force Elena to look.

"Caroline, you're scaring me. I don't..." Elena swayed on her feet.

Jeremy's car pulled into the driveway. Visiting hours at the hospital must be over. Caroline considered her options quickly as she caught her friend before she fell. "Jeremy!" Caroline sped to the car, tossing the passenger side door open before Jeremy even stepped for on the driveway. She dropped Elena into the seat and leaned in over her friend. "I'll explain everything later. Take her home." She locked eyes with him. "Don't let Stefan in the house."

"What's going on?" Jeremy buckled a protesting Elena into the passenger seat.

"I'll..._someone._..will be over in a little bit to explain, but for now, I need you to get her out of here." Caroline slammed the door and said a silent thanks as Jeremy immediately pulled out of the driveway. Now for the hard part...

"She done gloating?" Damon's words were muffled as he chugged a can of beer. Four glass bottles littered the sideboard. "Telling you how amazing he was. How much he needed her? How good it felt when he..."

"Stop it!" Caroline roughly jerked Damon to a seat on the couch next to her. "How drunk are you?"

Damon did his eye thing at her. "Not nearly drunk enough yet." Something in Caroline's expression leaked through his alcohol induced haze. "What's wrong this time?"

"First, I need you to promise to listen to me before you do anything crazy."

"Caroline, do you know who you're talking to? When have I done something crazy?"

Caroline resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Are you listening?"

"All ears." He smirked as he shifted forward in his seat.

"Damon, he compelled her."

* * *

><p>Damon resisted the urge to knock down the front door as he waited for Jeremy to make his way down the stairs. As much as he wanted to be in his brother's room separating Stefan's body from his heart right now, based on Caroline's description, he had a more important issue to take care of. He pounded at the doorway again to speed Jeremy along.<p>

She wasn't drinking vervain in case they needed her blood. How insane.

How _Elena._

"Damon." Jeremy tossed a stake down next to the door with blood-stained hands. "Caroline told me to bring her home. I don't know what to do. She won't let me look at her back."

"And she's so much bigger than you are, right?"

"She's stronger than you think." He massaged a purple spot on his jaw as Damon blurred up the stairs.

Elena sat in the center of her bed, knees tucked up against her chest. She blinked slowly at Damon as he stood in the doorway. "Damon, what's going on? Why are Caroline and Jeremy acting like this? I don't understand."

"I know you don't." He walked slowly across the room. Knowing he was about to test the limits of how far they'd come in whatever relationship they had, he lowered himself next to her on the bed. Her skin was as white as the field of white behind the flowers on her sheets. He tried to look at her back, and she contorted away from his reach.

She couldn't let anyone look at her back.

She didn't seem to be able to see her own injury.

He was going to have to get a little creative, so he took her hand in his and studied her eyes. "Elena, do you trust me?"

Elena nodded slowly, hesitantly. They'd worked side by side for the majority of the summer. Even though she knew exactly how he felt about her, he'd always been careful to keep his distance while she mourned Stefan's loss.

"I need you to do something for me."

Elena looked at him with suspicion.

"Sweetheart," the term of endearment unfamiliar on his tongue, he gently reached out to stroke her cheek, "I need you to take off your shirt."

"What?" Elena shot to her feet in indignation. There was the fire he'd been missing.

Damon rolled his eyes. "You can put another shirt on, but I need you to go into the bathroom, change out of that shirt, and bring it back to me." Jeremy came to stand like a shadow in the doorway. He nodded in encouragement to Elena.

"This is ridiculous." Elena shook her head but cooperated. She yanked a camisole from her top drawer and stalked into the bathroom. "What?" She screamed in surprise followed almost immediately by the sound of her retching into the toilet.

Damon was immediately at her side.

"What is this?" Elena dangled her bloodstained shirt in front of his face. "I don't..." She leaned over the toilet again as Jeremy flew into the doorway.

"Damon." Jeremy's eyes were wide at the sight of his sister's back.

"There's a reason they call them rippers." Damon bundled Elena's hair in his hand as he supported her weight while she leaned over the toilet.

"What happened?" Elena's even more pale face combined with her rapid breathing hinted she was going into shock. "I don't understand. I don't remember." Her brown eyes filled and spilled over.

"I know you don't." He cradled her in his arms and carried her back to her room and settled her in the middle of her bed. "Elena, Stefan compelled you."

"No." She shook her head violently. "He wouldn't." Her eyes drifted from Damon's face to the once-white shirt she'd worn beneath the black sweater. "He didn't mean to."

"We can talk about that tomorrow." He wiped her hair back from her face. "Right now, I need you to trust me one more time." He cupped her face in his hands as he brought his own wrist to his lips.

"Damon." She tried to pull away.

"Sweetheart, I'd love to take you to the hospital, but unless you want them to ask some very uncomfortable questions, we're going to have to do this." His fangs elongated and tore through his skin. He held his arm in front of her lips. Watching. _Waiting_. This time, it would be her decision.

She gave one last glance at his pain-filled eyes, brought her lips to his arm, and drank.

* * *

><p>So...I hope this chapter met with your approval. Since this one was a bit unplanned, I'd love to know what y'all think.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: I've still had a few reviews questioning Elena's actions in chapter two. I've added a conversation here that will hopefully clear up exactly what she knew was going on and what she didn't. In a nutshell, she was compelled almost from the moment Stefan stepped out of Alaric's view.

And, before I move on, I think I need to address "my" timeline. I've done a lot of work trying to figure out how much time has passed in the show during the first two seasons. When I asked JP the question on Twitter, I was told that the time is kind of fluid and not to try too hard to figure it out (or something like that).

Unfortunately, my brain just doesn't work that way. Based on various time references in S1, I think about 4 months passed there. Season 2 passed even faster - multiple episodes happened within a day (or 36 hours) of each other. I think it may have been closer to 2 months.

When they found Stefan here, he'd been gone for a little over 4 months - almost the same amount of time that Stefan and Elena had been together. So...hopefully that'll make this chapter's events make sense.

Warnings: Mature, ADULT content, sensitive subject matter, violence, blood, language

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><p>The faint pink light of dawn leaked through the edges of the blinds and drifted across Elena's bed. Damon looked past the chocolate-brown hair splayed across his arm and down her back as she lay curled against his chest.<p>

Stefan may have compelled her to be unable see her injury, but he hadn't taken away the pain, leading to much of her confusion the night before.

After she'd swallowed two mouthfuls of his blood, he'd tugged his arm out of her grasp. He knew her views on the possibility of turning into a vampire - no need to take any extra chances by allowing his blood to linger in her system for too long.

As if he planned to let her out of his sight until the danger had passed... Given her penchant for driving while irate and her ability to draw any vampire within miles into her path, he was staying with her until he was certain his blood was completely gone.

Gently, so as not to wake her, he shifted her slightly to get a better view of her injury. When he told her he was staying to keep watch last night, he'd been thinking more along the lines of sitting in her windowseat - not having Elena nestled against him in her sleep. Every time she'd nod off, she'd roll onto her back and the pain would force her to awaken. As he'd watched her toss and turn in an effort to attempt to find a comfortable position, against his better judgement, he'd kicked off his shoes and crawled next to her in the bed. She'd resisted at first, but when he pulled her against his chest and curled her arm around her waist, it seemed to take the pressure off her wounds, and she'd quickly fallen asleep. Each time she'd tried to reposition herself, he'd tuck her back into place.

Not the best night of sleep he'd ever had - but hardly the worst either.

Now, he had a sunlight-assisted view of her back. No longer bleeding, the skin and muscle seemed mostly repaired, but even with the influence of his blood, there was no way that she wouldn't be forever scarred from the event.

Listening to the murmurs in her sleep, he wasn't knew she wasn't simply physically scarred. Stefan might have kept the attack from her conscious memory, but since she'd cried out in fear more than once during the night, he realized the extent of his brother's compulsion.

He'd convinced Elena to be a willing partner...to act like she was enjoying whatever Stefan was doing with her...not to be afraid of the blood... and then to block out his actions. But, judging from the words she'd spoken in her sleep, Stefan hadn't removed the memories completely.

The injury's rapid healing had slowed, signaling the last of his blood had left her system. Gently sliding out from beneath her, he hesitated for a moment to make certain she was still asleep.

Now it was time to deal with his brother.

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><p>Damon kicked the heavy door open as if it were a wadded up piece of trash. Stefan appeared to still be asleep. Yesterday must have taken a lot out of him.<p>

It definitely had taken much from Elena.

The sheets Stefan laid upon were stained varied shades of deep crimson - as if he'd tye-dyed them. But that wasn't paint. The scent of her blood hung heavy in the air.

"Need something?" Stefan cracked one eye open as he lay with his hands tucked behind his head.

"What did you do to her?" Damon's voice was low and threatening as he fought to keep his vampire nature in check. He wanted a few answers before he killed his brother.

Stefan laughed and glanced at the bed, frowning for an instant at the mess. He grinned back at Damon. "Snatch, eat, erase." He gave Damon a condescending nod of his head. "Weren't you the one who was always telling me to embrace my nature, to be my true self?"

"Not with Elena." Damon's fingers tightened around the stake behind his back.

"Of course not. That's the real issue here, isn't it? You're not mad about what I did." His voice changed to one Damon hadn't heard before. "It's who I did it with. Is she yours now?" Stefan craned his head as he slowly sat up and rested head against the backboard of the bed. "Did you screw her the first night I was gone?"

The leering glint in Stefan's eyes was the last straw. Damon flew at his brother as he fully embraced his true nature.

Stefan was ready. He met his brother mid-air and threw Damon into the wardrobe at the side of the room. The wood splintered under the impact, thrusting jagged splinters into the older brother's back. As Damon caught his breath, Stefan taunted again. "Was she worth the wait?"

"I never touched her." Using all the anger he'd stored since he'd gotten his first look at Elena's back, Damon propelled himself into Stefan's chest, knocking his brother into the foot of his bed. The bed frame broke with an echoing crash. "She was always too worried about you." Damon straddled Stefan and arced the stake above his chest. "She never even looked at me."

Stefan fought back, driving his fist into Damon's chin while knocking the stake out of his hand.

Spitting away blood, Damon growled and lurched for Stefan, grabbing him by the collar and hammering his fist into Stefan's face until his brother was almost unrecognizable.

"Damon!"

_She didn't._

"Stop."

Of course she did. He'd left her safely asleep in her bed at home, but she just had to follow him here. Keeping Stefan pinned to the ground, Damon slowly looked up and found himself almost face-to-knees with Elena. Beyond Elena, Ric and Caroline stood sentry in the doorway. "I need a minute with Stefan."

She'd never looked more like Katherine - detached and in control.

"Damon, please give me a minute." She took another step in their direction.

Growling, he threw his brother to the ground, mildly amused when Stefan's head bounced off the hardwood floor.

Elena stood back, letting Damon pass without a word.

Stefan had already switched back into martyr-mode. He hesitantly stood, rubbing his chin with his fingertips. "Elena." He practically purred while he tried to smile through his split lip. "Thank you." Reaching out to her, he tried to tilt her head to fully face him, but she stepped farther away.

"Don't."

"Don't touch you?" Oblivious to his audience, he took another step to close the distance between them. "You seemed to really like it yesterday." He trailed a finger down her chest.

"That was just because I didn't know what I was doing."

He gave a cold laugh, tracing the outline of her breast. "You _definitely _knew what you were doing."

She slapped his hand away, and her three guardians entered the room. "You compelled me."

Stefan gave a non-committal shrug.

"You promised." A hint of sadness entered her voice. Stefan didn't seem to notice. "You told me you'd never compel me." Elena's words choked in her throat. "What else did you lie about?"

"You were afraid of me. You stepped away from me the minute we hit the stairs, Sweetheart."

"No. You don't get to call me that." That name was reserved for someone else...the one who'd cradled her in his arms all night and tried to take her pain away. "And I had every right to be afraid."

"Elena." His voice smooth as butter, he tried to catch her eyes.

"Leave." Standing tall and unflinching, she stared him down.

"You don't mean that." His green eyes flashed brighter than she'd ever seen them.

"I drank vervain this morning." Elena's brown eyes locked with his. "I won't make the same mistake twice."

"You're just following Damon's orders."

"No." Her voice was as hard as steel. "I'm pretty sure Damon wanted to kill you." She swallowed thickly. "I just want you to leave. I never want to see you again."

"You don't mean that."

Alaric advanced on Stefan. "I'm pretty sure she does."

Stefan looked for sympathy in Caroline's eyes but found none. "Goodbye, Stefan."

In a blur, the vampire they'd spent the summer searching for...trying to rescue...convinced they could save... was gone.

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><p>"You wouldn't let me kill him." Damon led Elena into the upstairs hallway, away from the reminders of the prior day. The excitement apparently over for one day, Alaric and Caroline had excused themselves and left the Salvatore house.<p>

Wrapping her arms around herself, she shook her head. "I didn't want you to have to carry that with you, knowing you'd killed your own brother." She took a halting step toward the half-wall lining the upstairs corridor.

"You're still hurting."

Elena's lip trembled as she nodded.

"I have a solution." He pivoted her until she was facing the doorway to his bedroom.

"Damon..." She shook her head. "I'm not in the mood."

"That's not what I meant." He sped into the room Elena had claimed as her own throughout the summer and returned with her bathrobe in his hands. "I happen to have the best bathtub in the house, it even has jets." He nodded to his doorway and waited for her to walk ahead of him into the room.

"A bath?"

"It'll help." He stood so close, his breathing ruffled the top of her head. Reaching out, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Turn the water on hot, pour in some bubbles, turn on the jets. Wait for all the pain to go away."

If only it were really that easy.

Elena had soaked until she could have been in a California raisins commercial. Physically, almost all the pain was gone. Her shoulder only twitched if she spun around too quickly.

But another pain went deeper. Coupled with the confusion from the words she'd overheard from Damon and Stefan's argument, her conflicted emotions were more of a burden than anything Stefan had done to her.

She'd refilled the tub twice, each time filling the room with a cloud of steam. Now, the water had cooled until she was shivering again. She couldn't hide here any longer.

Grabbing hold of a towel she'd pulled from the cabinet where Damon stored a surprising variety of bubble bath, she dried off before dressing in her favorite terry cloth robe. Leaving the steamy room behind, she didn't make it ten steps into Damon's bedroom before the tears she'd expected in the bath finally came.

Why couldn't she have broken down when the lull of the jets could have drowned her out? She collapsed on the edge of the bed.

Following the pattern they'd set over the summer, Damon was at her side in an instant. "Can I do anything?" His weight hollowed out the mattress and slid Elena against his hip.

Elena blinked up at him through her damp eyelashes. "No."

He held her against his chest and ran his hand over her hair. "I'm sorry."

"You didn't do anything wrong." She sniffed. "At least when you compelled me, you had a good reason. Stefan just wanted me to have sex."

"Elena, I..." Damon pulled away from her and ducked until he was looking her directly in the eyes. "What did you just say?"

Elena's face betrayed her guilt. "I'd had a lot of vervain splash on me that day, Damon." She bit her lip. "It worked at first, but bits and pieces started coming back to me. And someone had to give me my necklace." Her fingers slid along her neckline. "I put two and two together." She took a deep breath. "I understood. I needed to stay with Stefan. You loved me, but you weren't _in love _with me." Sitting fully erect, she put on her bravest face. "You didn't want me."

"That's what you remembered?" Damon's eyebrows knit together.

Elena nodded.

"And that's why you stayed with Stefan? You thought I didn't feel _like that _about you?"

She nodded again.

His lips curled into a hesitant grin. "You might want to work a little harder on your math." He tentatively reached out to stroke her cheek. "I most definitely want you." His voice sultry and low, he ran his fingertips down her face and traced the outline of her jawbone. Her pulse sped beneath his touch. "I've wanted you for longer than I care to admit."

Transfixed by the fire burning intensely in his ice blue eyes, Elena rested her hand atop his knee. Her lips parted slightly as she closed her eyes.

And waited.

His lips met hers with a bruising tenderness, exploring her mouth, tasting the last hints of her tears. Elena leaned into him and wrapped a hand behind his neck, allowing her fingers to explore the long-forbidden black locks, as she pulled him more firmly against her.

He picked his hand up from the bed and rested it on Elena's waist, the bathrobe doing nothing to mask her gentle curves.

She moaned at his touch, and the sound brought him back to reality.

"Elena." He pulled her hand from behind his head and waited for her eyes to open. "We don't have to do this." He forced his hand to retreat from its journey to cup her bottom. "Tell me if you want me to stop."

Her pupils dilated and heavy with desire, she slid her hand up his chest and breathed into him. "I don't want to stop." Her lips crashed against his and she thrust her tongue into the mouth she'd stared at for so long but was never able to fully explore.

Damon picked her up and placed her legs on either side of his until they sat chest to chest. The only benefit of Klaus' deranged home movies, Damon had become well acquainted with Stefan's style. His brother had sex.

Today Damon would make love to Elena.

He slid the shoulder of her robe down, covering every inch of skin with his lips' gentle caress, until one arm was completely exposed to him.

As Elena tugged her hand free from the sleeve, something else came into view.

Damon palmed the creamy skin of her breast in his hand as he leaned down to take her nipple between his lips. Allowing the barest hint of his teeth graze the dark brown skin, he was rewarded by watching her nipple pebble with arousal. His tongue circled the tiny mound in the center of her breast. "You like that?"

Elena blinked and tried to focus. "You have no idea." She shrugged her shoulder and the top of her robe fell completely away.

"Are you in a hurry?" He did his eye thing in her direction as he bent down to devour her other breast. The position she sat on his lap left no question as to if she was in a hurry. The dampness on his legs had nothing to do with her earlier soak in his bathtub.

She fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, and he gripped her hands to still them. In an instant, he'd discarded that article of clothing. Her hands traveled over his chest and her fingernails dug at his back.

He slid back and slowly lowered Elena until her head rested on the pillow in the exact center of the massive expanse of the bed. He laid alongside her, his hands traveling along her skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. When he could go no farther, he reached for the tie to her robe and hesitated.

He looked back at her, an unspoken question hanging in the room.

Her eyes never leaving his, she untied the belt and opened her robe, leaving herself completely exposed to him. He took an unneeded breath and practically ate her with his eyes. "You are so beautiful."

"Nothing you haven't seen." A hint of sadness filled her eyes. "I look just like her."

"No." He slid a hand over her tanned skin. Beginning at the soles of her feet, he began to kiss his way up one leg and then the other. "Completely different. I've never seen you." He reached for the button of his pants and slid out of them - the last barrier between them removed.

Elena stared at the juncture between his legs, and her eyes visibly widened.

"I won't hurt you." He stalked his way halfway up her body, stopping just over her lower curls. Gently separating her legs, he could still see a hint of bruising his blood hadn't repaired. He started to pull away, but her hand came to rest atop his, guiding him down to her most private area.

She flinched and her muscles tightened at his first attempt to slide his finger inside. He brought his lips back to hers as he circled his fingertips over her sensitive skin. As he plunged his tongue between her lips, he dipped his finger back into her, relieved when she showed no hint of pain.

He deepened his kiss, and she spread her legs farther apart, searching for something only he could provide. Bringing himself to rest between her thighs, he cupped her face in his hands as he gently pressed against her, only entering her after she nodded her permission. It took all his years of control to keep his pace slow as he rocked within her. He smiled as he watched her cheeks flush while she struggled to keep her eyes open. When her fingernails dug firmly into him, begging him to increase his pace, he happily obliged.

The instant he sped up, he felt her body go rigid beneath him. Placing a kiss atop her head, he entwined her fingers with his before he gave a final handful of thrusts and collapsed on top of her, strangely spent.

Slowly, he untangled his limbs from hers. Not ready for the contact to be broken, Elena rolled onto her side and pressed herself against him. "So, I misunderstood that night?" Her lips curled in a teasing smile.

"You most definitely misunderstood." He pulled the blanket up over her shoulder and watched as her eyelids drifted closed. "Goodnight Sweetheart."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: I've had several comments questioning a couple of decisions I've made over the past two chapters. Since others of y'all who haven't reviewed (or haven't been logged in so I could answer) may have similar questions/concerns, I thought I'd take a minute to address them.

First, I don't hate Stefan. If y'all have read many other of my stories, I think this one (and a not-yet-developed plot in Graduation Day) are the only two times I've made him the bad guy. In Bittersweet, he does die (sorry - spoiler) but, it's to save Elena...and I think that's ok.

However, since JP/KW introduced the "ripper" aspect of his nature, I don't think we can easily blow that off. There's a reason he's stuck to bunny blood, and it's to keep himself under control. Once Klaus was successful in breaking that element of control, Stefan had no choice but to revert to the more animalistic nature I believe a "ripper" should have...more on that later. If Stefan killed an entire village in the past, taking a bite out of Elena while also indulging himself in some other _benefits _is really kind of mild. Sorry if that surprised/bothered anyone.

Second, I know Damon would love to have killed Stefan in chapter three. Elena couldn't let him do it - much like she talked Stefan down from killing Damon in _162 Candles. _Stefan couldn't die at this point in the story - and that's all I'm saying for now. That being said, my lovely friend Ciara wrote an amazing drabble delving into Damon's emotions post-chapter two here. If you're her friend on LJ, I strongly recommend that you read it since it beautifully encompasses what Damon planned to do.

I've actually had several homeless plot bunnies running since S1 that I've never been able to find a home for. When I was encouraged to expand my one-shot, I realized that they'd all actually work into this story really effectively. Thanks for coming along on the journey.

Warnings: Mature, adult content, sensitive subject matter, violence, language

I still don't own TVD. I doubt this is an angle JP/KW/LJS would ever explore, but I"m having fun taking the characters out for a spin. They'll all (well, who knows where Stefan and Klaus are) be safely back at home in Mystic Falls when the season begins.

That was a record-setting author's note. Thanks for sticking with me. On with the show...

* * *

><p>The bell buzzed and the students in the history class broke from their storm-induced in-class slumber, collected their books, and began to file out of the room. The endless storm over the past week had kept most students awake at night fighting the flooding as Drowning Creek spilled its banks. Today, the rain was little more than an annoyance as the rushing waters finally retreated overnight leaving the town square in shambles. Sign up sheets to help with the clean-up had already sprung up on the cafeteria walls. Mystic Falls students were nothing if not civically-minded, especially if it meant they'd get out of school after lunch on a Friday.<p>

Elena stood to follow Caroline from the room, but stopped when she dropped her books. Caroline paused to help. "No, go on ahead. I'll meet you at lunch." Elena shook her head as she collected the scattered papers.

"Elena." Alaric looked up from his desk, tapping a paper in his hand. "Can you wait for a second?"

Elena nodded glumly. He was using his _I'm your teacher _voice. If this had been intended as a casual conversation, he would have waited until dinner tonight. Mustering enthusiasm she didn't possess, she stood in front of his desk. "What's up?"

"Not your grades." He held out the paper on World War II most of the class turned in on Monday. Hers arrived in Mr. Saltzman's hand on Tuesday. A red D was circled in ink just to the right of her name.

"I'm assuming that doesn't mean delightful." Elena cringed as she took the paper from his hand.

Alaric gave her an exasperated look. "You know what it means." He ran his hand through his shaggy hair in annoyance. "I'm not sure if I'm your teacher or your kind of guardian right now, but if you want to go to college..._any _college, you need to pull your grades up. I've talked with the rest of your teachers. This is your highest grade you've gotten in any of your classes this week."

"I'm sorry, I..." Elena had run out of excuses.

"I understand, Elena. I really do. I'm just trying to get by right now too, but Jenna wouldn't want this."

"It's more than just Jenna."

"I know that too. If you'd cut back on some of your _extracurriculars_..."

Elena's eyes cut to his. "That was just the one time. You made sure of that." She wasn't sure how Alaric had influenced his friend, but for some reason Damon decided Elena needed a few months to stand alone on her feet without being entangled by a relationship with another Salvatore. After Christmas, they'd decide if she was ready for what being together with Damon meant. Over the past month, he'd seldom left her side, but they'd never crossed the line Alaric had set for them.

"At this point, I'd be willing to say y'all should just go for it...if he'd help you with your homework at the same time. He lived through World War II, Elena." Alaric sighed. "But that's not the only thing I'm talking about. I've heard you at night - typing on your laptop till 2. You're not working on your homework." She refused to meet his eyes. "You've got to let it go, Elena."

"But I'm the reason he's still out there, killing them."

"You are _not _the reason Stefan's on the news at night." The morning after Stefan left the boardinghouse, they'd seen the first report on the evening news. A young girl who bore a striking resemblance to Elena had been found mangled two towns away. Now, no more than three days went by before each new report of a killing by the _ New Jack the Ripper _was described in agonizing detail by reporters who couldn't seem to decide if they were horrified or amazed at the killer's efficiency and ability to remain faceless despite this age of a video camera on every corner. The reporters covering the story didn't know how close their nickname for the killer actually was to the truth.

"I am. If I hadn't stopped Damon..."

"You stopped Damon from destroying himself. He wouldn't have been able to live with what he'd done. Stefan's still his brother."

Tears pooled in Elena's eyes as she pushed her hair back away from her face.

"Listen." Alaric stood and walked around his desk until they were standing face to face. His somewhat step-daughter and almost-niece was breaking down before his eyes. He thought she was bad off after Jenna and John died and Stefan was missing, but compared to now, she looked healthy back then. If she lost any more weight or her face lost any more of its color, he would have to insist that she seek professional help. Of course, what could she say to a doctor? _Sorry I'm not eating or sleeping. I'm feeling guilty because my former boyfriend is murdering women in the three state area - _not too effective. So Alaric stood there, trying to decide the best way to handle the problem. If he hadn't been in the school building, he would have wrapped Elena in a reassuring hug right now. As it was, he'd focus on the most immediate solution to one of her problems. "We can fix part of this. We're only a little over six weeks into the school year. You can still pull your grades up. In fact, I have an extra-credit project with your name on it."

"Extra credit?"

"It's a big project. I've talked to your teachers and most have agreed to give your grades a nudge when you're finished. Are you willing to do it?"

* * *

><p>Elena stood with her sleeves pushed up in the musty air of the city hall basement. The formerly green all-weather carpet squished beneath her sneakers. "We're tackling this?" She knew Caroline was a work-a-holic, but this was even beyond the scope of perky blonde's normal plans.<p>

Caroline gave Elena a loving look. "You need a hobby that doesn't involve tracking Stefan's latest victim. I need a distraction from my latest drama from Matt."

"And Tyler." Elena smirked.

"Exactly." Caroline placed her hand on her hip. "We both need something to do. I thought putting the city birth and death records back in order would at least be interesting. And we could poke around without Old Mrs. Mulligan wondering why we'd suddenly taken such an interest in the family histories of the founders. Don't you want to know who else might turn into a werewolf someday?"

"Other werewolves?"

"Elena, half the town is related to each other. If this is a bloodline thing, there are other potential werewolves around here. I, for one, would like to know who they are before they decide I'd make a good midnight snack. Only one of us has an Original's blood still in his system. Wonder if Damon's part Original now?" Caroline surveyed the water-laden boxes strewn throughout the former storage area. "And this isn't as bad as shoveling the sludge out of the Mystic Grill."

Elena held up a dripping ledger. "I don't know about that."

"Trust me. My mom told me what was in the sludge. This," she shook the water out of a stack of papers, "is the far superior task."

* * *

><p>Elena's stomach rumbled and she looked up at the clock. "Whoa. Is it really nine?"<p>

"Feels like old times. Cramming for a test the night before finals." Caroline stretched the stiffness out of her neck.

"But Bonnie's dad isn't here to bring us sandwiches." Elena glanced at the empty chairs at the table in regret.

"He always made the best sandwiches - meatball, mozzarella, and banana peppers. I haven't had one of those since..." Caroline's voice trailed off after noticing the expression on her friend's face. "How are you doing without Bonnie?"

"Just add her to the list." Elena's voice caught in her throat as a single tear leaked from her eye.

"Layna," Using the name she'd called her friend when they were five, Caroline stood and reached out to Elena. "You should have said something." She pulled Elena against her and rocked back and forth. "You don't have to pretend everything's alright with me."

Elena sniffed and wiped her face with her sleeve. "I'm just not sure how much more I can take. I feel guilty. Here I am. Everyone else is dead or kind of dead." Her breathing hitched in her chest.

"You're _not _alone. You have Jeremy, Ric...Damon." Caroline tested the impact of that last name on her friend. "Bonnie's going to get better. She has to...the girl's a Bennett witch." She pushed Elena's hair out of her face. "And you will _always _have me."

"Dinner delivery." The double doors swung open and Jeremy backed into the room, a massive picnic basket in his hands. Realizing he was interrupting a girl moment, he paused mid-step. "Um, I'll come back." He began to back out of the room.

"No." Caroline motioned for him to come in. "We've just been working too hard. Dinner's just what the doctor ordered." Caroline slid the stack of papers they'd been organizing to the end of the conference table. "So you're on food delivery duty?"

"Beats some of the other stuff going on out there. Y'all are my last stop for the night. And, you're lucky enough not to get the food they were fixing at the Methodist church." He began to empty the basket. Roast chicken, a container of mashed potatoes, almond roasted green beans, and hot dinner rolls...along with a small cooler containing two blood bags.

Elena glanced at her brother in surprise at the last part of the meal.

"Damon packed the basket."

Elena shook her head and almost smiled. Their relationship may have been on an Alaric-induced pause, but his concerned ice-blue eyes never left her on nights she spent at her second home. He never said he was worried about her, but strawberry cheesecake ice cream could always be found in the freezer and a bowl was placed in her hand at almost every opportunity he had. "Figures." She laughed as she took her first bite of the roasted chicken.

"Hey, what is this stuff?" Jeremy picked up a time-worn page.

"We're trying to repair the damage to the city's birth and death records." Caroline wrinkled her nose. Eight hours spent amid the mildewed pages had made cleaning the muck from the streets seem the more palatable job right now.

"Have you looked at these?" Jeremy tapped the pages in front of him.

"No." Caroline nodded to the stack of papers on her right as she drank from the clear straw. "We just finished this stack."

Elena glanced at Caroline and then turned her attention back to her own meal. "Why?" She chewed as she studied her brother.

"Stefan's name is on this one." He picked it up and began to read aloud. "Mystic Falls Birth Registry. November 1847. Stefan Nicholas Salvatore born to Guiseppe Nicholas Salvatore and Imogene Lockwood Salvatore."

Caroline choked on her blood. "Lockwood?" Jeremy nodded. "Damon and Stefan are Lockwoods?"

"That can't be right. Damon was born before they came to Mystic Falls. Unless... Did Guiseppe already know the Lockwoods?" Elena wiped her hands on a napkin and reached to take half the stack. "October 1847, September 1847, August 1847..." She muttered to herself. "These records stop in May of 1846. Where are the rest?"

Dinner was put on hold as the trio dug through the faded papers. The clock on the wall marking the passing of the next hour was the only sound in the room. "Not a birth record, but this is interesting." Jeremy looked between the two young women in the room. "Fell's Church Death Registry."

"Fell's Church?" Elena looked up in surprise.

Caroline shook her head. "No wonder you didn't get Miss Mystic Falls. Fell's Church was the first name of the town...before some unusual events at the falls made them change the name."

"Gee, I wonder what kind of weird stuff could have happened at the falls?" Jeremy rolled his eyes. "August 1845, Maria Contadino Salvatore, leaving behind Guiseppe Salvatore and one year old son, Damon Salvatore."

"Damon's not a Lockwood." Elena sat back in shock.

"But Stefan is." Caroline tucked her empty blood bag back in the cooler. "I think we need to talk to Damon."

* * *

><p>Caroline leaned forward on the leather couch. Only the crackling of the fireplace interrupted her words.<p>

"_And once again, the community gathered in support of Guiseppe. Imogene's death was such a shock to the poor man. She'd merely stepped to the horse's side when something startled the beast and it struck the young mother in the chest._

_All the town gossips cringed under the man's stern expression. They'd made Imogene's life so difficult since her son's arrival - not believing the infant merely arrived early. The whispers in the store corridors as she passed them by. Ridiculous! _

_They should hang their heads in shame, since they were the reason she ran outside in the first place. The older boy loved him like his true mother, tugging at her sleeve, begging her to stand up. He refused to leave her side until I peeled the boy away._

_I don't believe I've ever seen such a distressing sight as the proud man attempting to manage his two young sons alone at the graveside - and after losing Maria to the influenza just a handful of years ago._

_It would be difficult for anyone to recover from such losses - especially one as proud as Guiseppe. Octavia Fell has promised to organize the women of the community in an attempt to help him manage the boys until a suitable caretaker can arrive from back east."_

Caroline shut the journal and looked up. "That's all. The rest of it talks about the drought that hit that fall."

"No wonder I don't like horses." Damon leaned back on the couch, his arm casually draped over Elena's back.

Alaric shifted forward and ran his hand over the stubble on his chin. "And your dad never told you that you and Stefan were half brothers?"

Damon shook his head and ran his hand up and down Elena's spine. "He was a man of few words, even fewer when I was involved in the conversation."

"He's a Lockwood. Does that mean Stefan's part werewolf...like Klaus?" Elena spoke for the first time that night. She shook her head in dismay and Damon pulled her into the space under his arm and took her hand in his. Alaric noticed for the first time in days she actually seemed marginally at ease, despite the nature of their conversation.

Jeremy rubbed his head and closed his eyes. "It gets worse." All eyes turned on him. "When Bonnie and I were looking for something to...counteract the effects of vampire blood," Jeremy gave Damon a furtive glance. "we found something else. It was in the oldest grimoire we had. It wasn't a spell, more like a warning."

"And?" Damon prompted.

"It said something about hybrids. We didn't really think anything of it because we knew what we were dealing with, but it said that if other hybrids had been created, they were locked in the form of the vampire until the Original curse was broken from the blood of a Petrova doppelganger." He glanced at his sister. "We didn't think they were going to break the curse, and I kind of forgot about it."

"And you're telling us this now why?" If Jeremy didn't have his ring, Damon's glare suggested the teen would be in serious pain for not mentioning it sooner.

"A hybrid can unlock the curse by draining a Petrova. If Stefan's part werewolf, that might explain some of his behavior. He's not just a vampire."

Alaric sighed. "And now he's trying to break the curse so he can be like Klaus."

"But Elena's still here. Stefan didn't try to drain her." Caroline looked at her friend in concern.

"It didn't say it had to be the doppelganger - just a Petrova." Jeremy clarified.

Elena shook her head. "But there aren't any other Petrovas. We studied the family history. I'm the only one left."

"That we know of. We may have missed something before." Alaric drummed his hands on his lap. "We'll just have to look harder into Isobel's family history. But that's a job for tomorrow."

* * *

><p>Alaric stood in the study watching Damon down his third glass of bourbon. "Alright, you win."<p>

Damon looked up at his friend over his almost-empty cup.

"You did what I asked." Alaric motioned in the direction of the teenagers talking in the living room. "And it failed miserably."

Damon almost smirked, but didn't when Elena's profile caught his eye.

"I thought she needed time and space, but I can't help her." Alaric poured himself a glass. "She connects with you."

Damon chuckled at his friend's choice of words.

"I don't care if the two of you play naked slumber party..." Alaric swallowed the drink in one gulp. "I'm definitely winning the award for the world's worst guardian." Shaking his head, he did recall the fact that Jenna had let Stefan sleep with Elena under her own roof...while her niece was a minor. Maybe this wasn't the most horrible decision he'd ever made. "Just...help me take care of her." He poured a third glass. "Whatever it takes."

Damon gave a solemn nod and headed back into the living room. "I hate to break this up, but we all have a busy day tomorrow. We have to get the town ready for Halloween. Can't let the flooding mess up the night for the trick-or-treaters." He came to stand behind Elena and rested his hands on her shoulders. "Night Caroline, Jeremy." He held Elena in place as she tried to follow her brother. Leaning low over her ear, he whispered. "Mr. Protective over there has given me permission to invite you to a sleep-over this evening, if you'd care to stay here."

"I stay here almost every night, Damon." She glared at him.

"Night, Ric." Damon waited for the three guests to walk out the front door. He gently reached under her chin and tilted her face up to his before he placed a tender kiss on her lips. "I mean stay with _me_." Her cheeks flushed pink at the implications of his words, but even the new-found color in her face didn't mask the heavy circles under her eyes. "But tonight, you'll just be sleeping."

Damon's shoulders began to shake with laughter as she shook her head in mild annoyance.

"Sleep." He kissed her again. "He told me about the schedule you've been keeping when you're back at your house. But Halloween's always been a favorite holiday of mine. We _might_ have to celebrate."


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: First, I need to get a little "issue" taken care of. I've received a lot of messages regarding "Going Home" and "Smoke and Ashes." Yes, I'm aware that they're missing from the site. I apologize for taking them down without any notice, however it was necessary. Hopefully, I'll be able to explain a bit more in the future.

Thanks for your support and continuing to read.

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><p>"Isobel's mom had her when she was 18, but she never had any other kids. Then, you already know Isobel just had me. So...despite the fact that they all needed lessons in safe sex, I seem to be the last of the Petrovas." Elena sighed and rested her head on the guardrail of Bonnie's bed at the rehabilitation center. "So, if what we've figured out about Stefan is right, then he still has to use me to break the spell - unless using me to break Klaus' spell makes me used up or something." She cleared her throat and closed her eyes. "We could <em>really <em>use a witch right now."

"Well, hello, Elena." Mr. Bennett walked through the door to Bonnie's room. A group of children dressed in brightly colored costumes roamed the hall. When Elena had arrived, more than one resident asked what she was dressed as. She had to fight against the urge to answer _the doppleganger. _ "Didn't expect to see you here."

"I was at Founder's Hall. Helping with the clean up."

"Did you finish?"

"No. Looks like our extra credit project will take the whole semester." Elena yawned. "We finally decided to stop after lunch. Thought I'd come by to visit before I went home."

He looked vaguely suspicious. "Keeping her up to date on all the school gossip?"

"Something like that." Elena coughed into her hand. It was gossip - just not school related.

He'd switched into Dad-mode. "That cough doesn't sound good."

"I'll be okay." Elena reached for a tissue from the collection of books and toiletries on the table beside Bonnie's bed. Her throat tightened when she saw the bottle of citrus-scented lotion Jeremy bought Bonnie for her birthday earlier in the month.

"Have you gone to the doctor?" He wasn't going to be easily diverted.

Elena blew her nose and tossed the tissue in the trash. "No. I thought this was just from all the dust cleaning up the records in the basement, but I'm starting to think it's a cold." She flinched under his concerned expression. "I guess I should go. Don't want Bonnie to catch this." She chewed her lip and reached to squeeze Bonnie's hand. "She's going to get better. She has to." She looked at her friend. If Elena didn't know better, she would have sworn Bonnie was just taking a nap. She looked so peaceful there, never making a sound. Convincing the emergency workers, doctors, and Bonnie's father that she'd almost drowned in the Lockwood tank had tested the limits of Damon and Caroline's combined compulsion abilities, but it was easier than explaining she's somehow short-circuited herself from using too much magic.

"That's what I tell her every day." He put his coffee cup down on the side table. "How are you doing? I see Jeremy all the time, but I've never run into you here."

"I've been here to visit." Elena chewed her lip, knowing that up until today she'd deliberately chosen times she'd avoid running into Bonnie's father. She knew she hadn't visited as often as she should, but watching her friend lying in the bed was one more layer of guilt that she had to work through.

Bonnie's dad gripped her shoulder. "I know you and Jeremy are on your own now. So sad about Jenna and John. I never expected something like that in town. I know Sheriff Forbes said they don't have any suspects. Y'all doing okay?"

Elena nodded slowly. "We're managing. He can almost cook oatmeal."

"If you need something, you just let me know." He picked up his mug and took a drink. "I know that's what Bonnie would want. She always said you were her sister."

"Thanks." Elena pulled a peppermint from her pocket as she left Bonnie's room. Begging the spicy sweet candy to do something to soothe her throat, she shifted it back and forth around in her mouth. Mr. Bennett's kind words made her eyes water, and she paused to lean against a chair in the living room. He didn't know that Bonnie was there because she'd chosen to save Elena's life and sacrifice her own.

"Excuse me, miss?" A nurse came to stand at Elena's side. "Do you need something?"

"No, but thank you." Elena quickly exited the building and allowed the cool breeze to strike her cheeks, pulling her emotions back under control. She studied the clock on her dashboard and tried to decide which house would be her destination. Two hours until she was supposed to be helping at the school carnival. As darkness began its descent on the town, she realized just going to her house would probably be best.

The steering wheel shook under her grip and the car slowly rolled to a stop.

"You've got to be kidding." Elena pressed the gas pedal and...nothing. She popped open the hood and got out of the car and tried to ignore where her car decided to die.

"_Elena..." _A voice whispered in the distance, and Elena spun around.

"_Elena." _A dark-skinned woman in a floor-length dress beckoned from the edge of the cemetery.

"Emily?" Elena back toward her car, shaking her head, as the transparent figure smiled and nodded.

"_I have a message for you. Come with me." _The friendly expression left her face as she advanced in Elena's direction.

Elena rested her hand on the hood of her car as she sprinted toward the driver's seat. A rock slid out from beneath her foot, and her cell phone bounced to the ground as it fell from her pocket.

* * *

><p>"I thought Elena was with you." Damon wove his way through the crowd of teenagers standing in front of the Haunted Founder's Hall. He'd spent the last hour passing out candy to the children who'd taken the emergency exit and decided they didn't want to finish the event. Most of that time, he'd been searching the crowd for the familiar long brown hair of the young woman scheduled to work the shift with him. Her text she'd sent him at six letting him know she was running late did little to dispel his worry.<p>

Caroline shook her head. "Not since we broke for lunch. We decided we'd done enough sorting for the day. I'd wondered why Mrs. Lockwood laughed when I signed us up for that job. I don't think those records were in order _before_ the flood." She pointed to the Mystic Falls Rehabilitation Center. "She went to visit Bonnie, and then she said she was going to go home."

"And you let her go by herself?"

"I didn't know she needed a babysitter." Caroline's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Damon shook his head and tried to reign in his emotions. Elena was nothing if not obsessed with trying to prove she was capable of taking care of herself. Problem was, that was normally when they discovered she was also a magnet for whatever danger happened to be lurking in the western hemisphere. "She doesn't. But she said she'd be here by seven."

"It's just five after seven, Damon." Caroline teased. The elder Salvatore brother had it _bad. _"She'll be here in a minute."

"I'm sure she will." He gave a half-hearted nod and pulled his phone from his pocket. He keyed in yet another text message that he knew would go unanswered.

* * *

><p><em>Klaus stood cloaked in darkness. In the distance, a horse neighed, followed by a low bleat from a sheep. Carrying a torch through the woods, he spoke in hushed tones to the man at his side. "You understand the importance of this task?"<em>

_Trevor stepped into the flickering light. "But my lord, why don't you carry it out yourself?"_

"_The child cannot be mine. We've already discussed this." Witches were crafty, sadistic creatures. When the woman had sealed the curse, she didn't hesitate to tell him that mixing his lineage with that of the doppleganger would prevent the spell from being lifted. Of course, once Katerina provided a child, that part of the curse no longer mattered._

_As soon as the child arrived from tonight's long-anticipated union arrived, Klaus would be able to do whatever he liked with Katerina. Klaus smiled to himself, knowing that time would most definitely arrive. But tonight, he needed Trevor's assistance. "And she's already shown to be so fond of you, even if she'll never remember this night." Klaus chuckled softly as he turned and looked at the dwelling in the distance. _

"_She _is _the one you've sought over the years?"_

"_Indeed she is." Klaus nodded in agreement. Her resemblance to Charlotte could not be denied. He'd been searching for this woman for almost a century, robbed from his chance to break his curse by Charlotte's untimely death after a brief illness. He wouldn't make that mistake again. "However, we must make certain guarantees until the moonstone is in my possession."_

"_Guarantees?"_

"_The line of the doppleganger must continue. Your _sacrifice _tonight will ensure another doppleganger someday will be born as well if we're unable to break the curse before we have all the ingredients at hand." Without another word, he brought his wrist to his mouth and took a savage bite from his own arm. Pressing it against Trevor's lips, the younger man revealed his true vampire nature as he drank from Klaus' arm. "That should be sufficient." Klaus pulled his wrist away and reached out to dab the traces of blood from Trevor's lips. "We mustn't frighten her." He glanced at the full moon in the sky above. "The seed must be planted tonight."_

_Trevor smiled at Klaus and strode through the darkness toward the small house. Rapping once on the door, he was met almost immediately by Katherine. She gave the man at the door a timid smile._

"_Your family is gone for the evening? Trevor raised an eyebrow in her direction._

_Katherine nodded shyly. "My grandmother has suddenly taken ill, but I have been as well. My mother felt the journey would risk my fragile health."_

"_Perhaps I should return a different day." Trevor tightened his traveling cloak around his neck. _

"_No." Katherine licked her lower lip. "I believe my strength is returning already." _

"Elena!"

Damon's voice broke into her dream, and she felt his strong hands pulling her into the air and cradling her into his chest. She cracked one eye open - looking around in confusion. She was in the clearing above the tomb. "How did I get here?" Her voice cracked as her eyes widened in alarm.

"I was kind of hoping you could tell me that." He sped her in the direction of the Salvatore boardinghouse. She was shaking so violently from the cold, he ignored the danger from someone seeing him, knowing that any odd sights tonight would be laughed off because it was Halloween.

"My car died."

"We already knew that." Damon kissed the top of her head and nodded. "That's how Sheriff Forbes could tell something was wrong. She found your car and your phone on the side of the road. Just no you. I think half the town's been looking all night." The carnival abruptly ended when news of Elena's disappearance reached the other students. They'd lost enough members of this year's graduating class over the past months to the unexplained animal attacks. They wouldn't loose another if they could help it.

"I saw Emily." She coughed into his shoulder. "And then I had a dream or a vision or _something."_

"Don't talk right now." Holding her with one arm, he tossed the front door open and shot up the stairs. Placing her on the floor of his bathroom, he filled the tub up until the entire room was full of a cloud of steam.

"What time is it?"

"Almost midnight."

"I was there for six hours." Elena's trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons of her t-shirt. Fleeting images filled her mind, but only the moments between Klaus and Trevor were completely clear.

"Here." Damon gently pushed her hands away and removed Elena's clothing for her. "You need to warm up." As if she was as light as a feather, he lifted her into the bathtub. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead as the doorbell rang downstairs. "That's probably Ric."

Damon flew down the stairs and opened the front door, not surprised to be looking at his friend who'd elected himself guardian of the Gilberts.

"How is she?"

"Freezing, confused, keeps muttering about seeing Emily."

Alaric froze. "As in _Bennett?_"

"I don't know any other Emilys." Damon walked to the sideboard and poured a drink. "She kept saying something about a vision." Another knock at the door announced Caroline and Jeremy's arrival.

"Elena had a vision?" Alaric continued the conversation he'd been having with Damon.

"Sounds like the witches had a message for her." Damon shrugged his shoulder and pushed a drink into Jeremy's hand without even a raised eyebrow from Alaric. "Help yourself." Damon nodded in the direction of the stairs as he met the concerned expression in Caroline's eyes.

* * *

><p>"Why'd you go with her?" Jeremy looked at his sister in alarm. The last time they'd been in the clearing had left him with no desire to return. Since Elena had been almost drained by Stefan at the foot of Klaus' dead body, he assumed his sister shared his distaste with the hollow.<p>

"I wasn't planning on it." Elena sipped a glass of peppermint tea. She studied Caroline and Alaric's concerned expressions while she sat with Damon supporting most of her weight. "I got out of my car, and she called my name."

"And you didn't run back to the car?" Caroline blinked between Elena and Damon in shock, knowing the only reason the other vampire in the room wasn't reacting more strongly was because he'd already heard the story - which is why the group had been assembled.

"That's where I was going." She placed the empty mug on the floor next to the couch. "But I woke up in the clearing instead."

"What happened while you were there?" Alaric studied Damon's face.

"I had a dream...or a vision...or something." She quickly recounted the glimpse she'd witnessed into Katherine's pre-vampire life.

"Trevor was Katherine's baby daddy?" Jeremy gave a half-laugh.

"Originals can have kids?" Caroline stared at Damon.

"Just add it to their list of party tricks." Damon tucked the blanket more tightly around Elena's legs.

Caroline frowned. "Why can't the witches write down a list of helpful hints for us? Originals can procreate. Hybrids need to drink a Petrova. The doppleganger's line must continue..."

"Next time I run into Emily, I'll ask." Elena frowned and furrowed deeper into Damon's chest.

"And that's why he fed Trevor his blood? Klaus couldn't be the father?" Alaric added to the list of unanswerable questions.

"I don't know. I guess so." Elena shook her head as her eyes threatened to close of their own will. "That's just what I saw."

"We should go." Alaric stood up as another fit of coughing came over Elena. "You might want to try to see a doctor tomorrow."

Elena nodded as Damon added, "We'll find one."

* * *

><p>Elena's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she put her water bottle down on her otherwise empty lunch tray. She looked at the caller ID and flinched. "I'll be right back." She whispered hoarsely to Caroline as she walked from the cafeteria into the relative quiet of the school hallway. "Hello?" She glanced back at Caroline's inquisitive face and rounded the corner.<p>

"Yes, this is Elena Gilbert. The medicine you gave me is working. My cough's a lot better, and I can actually swallow." Alaric strolled out of the teacher's lounge and noticed her in the corridor.

"Thank you." She stifled a cough. "Right, um, I'll come back for a recheck next week." She gave a furtive glance at Alaric. "Now's actually not the best time for me to be talking. Can I call your office after school to make the appointment? Thanks." Elena ended the call and pocketed her phone.

"No cell phone use during the day." Alaric stood opposite her in the hallway.

Elena shrugged. "I thought the school nurse would want to know it isn't strep throat."

Alaric crossed his arms and studied her expression. "So you're ok?"

She flinched and swallowed. "Just have to stay on the antibiotics for a week or so. I should be as good as new before you know it." She unwrapped a peppermint and popped it in her mouth.

Ric didn't seem convinced. She'd eaten at least ten peppermints during his class. If she kept that up, she'd be needing a dentist as well as a doctor. The shadows under her eyes had only deepened over the past two days. "You sure you're feeling like being here today?"

"I have a test in trig."

"Like you're going to pass it if you're feeling half as bad as you look." He leaned against the wall. "You had a hell of a night on Halloween. I know you're still trying to figure out what happened. Go home. I'll write you an excuse."

"Thanks, Ric." She gave a half smile and went back into the cafeteria to collect her things.

* * *

><p>"Ric said the doctor's office called." Damon circled the couch where Elena lay staring at the fire. Her favorite blanket was tucked under her chin, and she was twisting the fringe of a throw pillow around her fingers.<p>

Elena nodded silently.

"No strep throat?" He picked up her feet and took a seat next to her. Something in Elena's expression had worried Ric enough that he'd called Damon at Founder's Hall to suggest he go home to check on her. Damon had visited the Gilbert family house first. Finding it empty, he drove home, hoping to find her there. "That's what they told you yesterday too, right?"

Elena nodded again.

"So what's wrong?" Damon massaged her foot. Ric was right to be worried. Damon could hear her heart pounding in her chest without even concentrating.

Elena shook her head and stared at the fire.

"Nothing's wrong or you don't want to tell me?" Elena's shoulders began to shake, and a tear slid down her cheek. Now his emotions switched from mildly concerned to really worried. "Hey?" He slid her feet off his lap and pulled her against him. "Talk to me."

"I can't." She whispered as she started to cry in earnest. She sat up and covered her face with her hands.

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

Elena cried even harder. "Trust me." Her words were muffled behind her hands.

"I would if you'd tell me." He uncovered her face and nudged her cheek in his direction. Elena's heart only pounded in her chest.

"You don't want to know."

"Your death is the key to unlocking a curse? We've been there, done that." Damon tried to mask his fear with humor, but it fell flat.

"Not funny." She glared daggers at him.

"But it got you to actually make eye contact." He slid back in his seat on the couch. "Nothing can be worse than loosing you."

"Trust me."

"I would if you'd actually tell me what's wrong."

Elena took a breath, and Damon thought her heart would explode in her chest. "I'm pregnant, Damon."

Damon's hand stilled as he stroked her back. "That's not possible."

Elena stood and began to walk away. "See. I told you." She began to pace in front of the fireplace. "It _is_ that bad. At least I know why I had the vision on Saturday."

Now it was Damon's turn to be confused. "I don't understand."

"The witches wanted to make sure I knew." Elena fixed her eyes on Damon's shoulder. "The baby's yours."

"Mine?" Over a year ago, he'd joked that he loved to try to procreate, but never in his wildest dreams did he ever expect to be a father.

"You're the one with the blood of an Original." Elena bit her lip and nodded her head, not daring to look at his face. "Now I understand what Isobel must have been feeling. Pregnant...knowing her baby could be the key to ending some twisted curse. Having a baby that's born just to die." Her body was wracked by a silent sob.

Elena had a head start on him. He'd wondered why she'd been so quiet when she came home from the weekend clinic. As he'd slid into bed beside her, she'd pulled out of his embrace. At the time, he thought she was just really feeling horribly, after all, she was running a 102 temperature by then.

Now he knew.

The doctor had already discussed her likely pregnancy with her.

As she stared at the ceiling hours after going to bed, she must have been thinking about Jeremy's words. Stefan needed a Petrova to break his curse.

Now it was time for Damon's blood to run cold.

She now carried a Petrova inside her...but this child wasn't _just_ a Petrova. He tipped Elena's face up until his eyes stared into hers with a crushing intensity. Never blinking, he ran a hand over Elena's smooth belly. "My brother will never touch our baby."


	6. Chapter 6

Author's note: Thanks for the overwhelming number of replies to chapter 5. Being able to actually tell that people are reading the story does tend to make the updates come faster.

I made two errors in my last chapter's author's notes.

First, I forgot to thank LokYa for giving chapter 5 a run-through before I posted it. Something felt off with the chapter, and she was able to help me fine-tune it before I confused the lot of y'all. Thanks for helping me out!

Second, I had a little contest on another site when members were trying to figure out the bad guy in Smoke and Ashes. The first two members who guessed correctly won a "one-shot." I've worked DEfan27's request (for a vampire Damon to have a baby with Elena) in during chapter 5 and Scarlet2112's prompt will mostly be met during this one. It meshed really nicely with where I was going with this story line.

Warnings: Mature, sensitive subject matter, adult content, language, violence, character death

I don't own TVD. I'm just borrowing the characters for a while.

* * *

><p>"Where have you been?" Caroline caught hold of Elena's arm. "I thought you were going to be late." Caroline tsked in Elena's direction.<p>

Elena laughed at the unintended double meaning of her friend's words. "Just took a little longer to get ready this morning than I expected." She took a long breath to try to settle her stomach.

"Oh." Caroline held up her hand to stop Elena mid-sentence. "I know you were at Damon's last night. I seriously don't need the details." She no longer had trouble reconciling the Damon she'd known when he first came to town with the Damon Elena was in love with, but she still didn't need too much information.

"No." Elena flinched. "Nothing like that." Her eyes filled, and she angrily wiped the tears away. _Damn hormones. _"He hasn't even touched me in two weeks." The last time his hands had rested against her skin had been when he promised Stefan wouldn't hurt her baby. Since then, he'd been polite and beyond attentive to her every need - even kneeling beside her each time morning sickness struck since it arrived with a vengeance four days earlier. She'd leaned in for a kiss just that morning, and he'd taken a step back in retreat.

He blamed her for this...she knew he did. And she couldn't blame him. The once-reckless womanizing vampire had gotten a teenager pregnant - sounded like something from those _Twilight _books Caroline once liked so much.

"What's going on?" Caroline stopped in the middle of the hall, forcing the students in the hallway to step around the pair. "I thought things were off to a good start with the two of you."

"So did I." Elena choked out before she charged in the direction of the girls' bathroom, Caroline staying just a step behind her.

"Elena?"

The dark-haired teen dropped her books onto the tile floor before flinging the door to the largest stall open and retching into the toilet. She leaned over the black rim of the bowl, resting her forehead against her fist in a position that had become far too familiar over the past few days.

"Elena?"

Elena motioned for her friend to back away as a second wave of nausea came over her. The bell announcing the start of first period rang. Elena shifted her position until she was looking at Caroline out of the corner of her eyes. "You need to get to class. Go ahead and leave. I'll be fine."

Caroline stood firm. "Not till you tell me what's going on. Do you need me to get the nurse?"

Elena shook her head and succumbed a third time. Her forehead glazed over with sweat as a damp paper towel was placed on the back of her neck. After it was clear that this round was over, Caroline gathered Elena's books in her arms and helped her to her feet.

After walking slowly to the sink, Elena splashed water on her face and ran a stream of water in her cupped hands. Swirling the water around before spitting into the sink, she looked into the mirror and studied her pale reflection. "Ugh." She groaned and washed her face a second time before trying to exit the bathroom.

"Not so fast." Caroline held the door closed. "What's wrong, Elena?"

Elena shook her head.

"Do you want out?" Caroline leaned back against the door. "Come on," her face softened, "we've never kept secrets." She knew Elena's breaking point.

Elena backed away from the door and leaned against the cool tile of the wall before sliding to a seat on the floor. "You remember what we talked about on Halloween?"

"Yeah." Caroline took a seat next to her, while keeping a foot braced against the door to ensure their privacy.

"Turns out an Original's blood stays in a vampire's system for a long time." Elena looked down at the floor.

"What do you..." Caroline's eyes widened in shock. "You're not?"

Elena sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "I'm pregnant, Caroline."

"Oh, Sweetie." Caroline pulled Elena into her shoulder. "I'm so..."

"You can say you're sorry." Elena's voice choked. "Not like this was planned. Damon is far less than thrilled."

"I'm so sorry." Caroline tugged a paper towel from the dispenser on the wall and wiped Elena's face for her. "Have you been to the doctor yet?"

"Officially? No." Elena bounced her head off the wall. "But they did the test when I went to the minor emergency room when I was sick after I told them I was two weeks late. I have my first official appointment this afternoon."

"Is Damon going to be there?" Caroline squeezed Elena's knee.

Elena pushed her hair behind her ear. "Yeah. He promised he would meet me."

"Listen to me, you are _not _alone here. If you need me, just call me. " she crouched down until she was eye to eye with Elena, "You were there for me when I had this whole _I'm a vampire_ issue. We can handle this. Now, do I need to go beat Damon up for you?" Caroline stood in a boxer's stance. "I've done it before."

* * *

><p>Alaric's fist packed a surprising punch as it connected with Damon's jaw. Even though the vampire had been caught off-guard when answering his front door, he made no motion to defend himself. He knew this was coming...and somehow, he felt like he deserved it.<p>

"You got her _pregnant_?" Alaric spoke with the fire of an over-protective father.

Damon rubbed his stinging jaw. Ric was mad. "Not like we really planned it." His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How did you find out? I didn't think she wanted to tell anyone till she talked with Jeremy - which she should be doing right about now."

"I got an e-mail from the nurse this morning explaining one of my student's _condition."_

_ "_Working on a Saturday. That's dedication." Damon did his eye thing.

"I spilled my coffee when I read the name of the student who just found out she was pregnant...Elena Gilbert. Did you not think about warning me before I got the e-mail?" Alaric shook his head.

"We didn't know the doctor's office would be quite that efficient. They said they'd contact the school, but I didn't know they'd do it that fast." Damon walked through the house in the direction of the study. "That bottle of blood didn't come with a _may cause unintended pregnancy _warning. Do you think any kid deserves me for a dad?" He winced. "I've killed people, Ric."

Alaric studied his friend. The fact that Damon even asked the question proved the point he was about to make. "You're...a work in progress. But I'm not talking about you."

"I know." Damon walked to the sideboard and poured two drinks, not because he really needed one, but to give him something to do with his hands. "This isn't fair to Elena."

"She's just a kid."

"Tell me about it." After they'd survived the disdain seething from the obstetrician hinting at Elena's lack of responsibility and merely getting what she deserved, Elena had gone up to her room at the boardinghouse without a word. When he'd gone upstairs to see if she wanted to eat anything, he discovered she'd gone to bed. Sleeping soundly, with her face scrubbed clean of what little make-up she normally wore, she looked so young.

He silently cursed himself. She should be pouring over college applications, not reading books to find out when her morning sickness would subside.

"She looses almost all the family she has, survives the ritual for breaking the curse, my brother tries to eat her - twice...and now she's pregnant because of the witches' twisted need to make sure everything's in balance. At least the baby's mine, not some jerk who jumped her in the street or something to get her pregnant before she was nineteen, I'll be there to take care of her." Damon's last words came with a hint of a challenge.

"Will you?"

"What kind of question is that? You know how I feel about her." He paced in front of the bookshelf.

"What about the baby?" Alaric crossed his arms in front of himself.

Damon stared at the floor. Even though he'd had two weeks, he still hadn't gotten used to the idea that Elena was having _his _baby. It went against the rules of nature. He twisted his ring on his finger. Of course, he violated the terms of nature every day. "I gave up the idea of having kids over a century ago." Damon's voice turned unusually serious. "Even back during the war, most of the men I served with had a family waiting for them at home. I had the misfortune to fall for Katherine...no little Salvatores there." He gave a wry grin. "_This_," he picked up a book from the stack of pregnancy-related books on the side table, the employee at the book store laughed at the number of books he'd purchased that afternoon, "was unexpected." He held onto the top book for an instant longer than necessary, and his lips grinned wider.

"You're happy about this." Alaric looked at Damon in surprise.

"What?"

"The baby..." Alaric nodded to the stack of baby books. "You're not upset, other than what it's doing to Elena."

Damon finally allowed himself to admit his true feelings to himself. He laughed at the irony of the what he was about to say. Here he was...a 166 year old vampire...and he was going to be a father. "I'm not upset at all." He smiled widely at his friend.

"You might want to tell Elena that." Alaric inclined his head in the direction of the door slamming in the driveway. "I've been talking with Caroline. That's not what she thinks."

The front door closed with a soft click and the two men walked from the study and met Elena in the foyer. "Hey, Ric. Didn't expect to see you here." Elena shifted back and forth under Alaric's stern expression.

"I didn't expect to find out you're pregnant from getting a note from the nurse."

"Sorry." Elena flinched. "It's been a little surreal."

"It's okay." He took hold of her arm in a rare display of almost-father-tenderness. "You just let me know if you need anything. And if I tell you again that you can't leave the class to go to the bathroom, feel free to throw a textbook at me."

"Did you do that?" Damon looked at his friend in shock.

"I was lecturing." He held his hands in front of him in mock-surrender. "Those are the rules - no one leaves class while I'm talking."

Elena frowned. "And so I threw up all over the front of the room."

"That's why you came home early yesterday?" Elena hid her face behind her hand as she nodded. "I thought you were just nervous about your doctor's appointment." He glared at Alaric. "Served you right."

"I'm sorry." Alaric looked earnestly apologetic as Elena stepped back against Damon's chest. He had to hide a smile at her surprised expression as Damon began running his hands over her shoulders. "I'll...let you two have some time alone." Giving a half-wave, he let himself out the door. I imagine it'll just be me and Jeremy tonight for dinner."

"That's a good guess." Damon waited for the door to close after Alaric. Then, he leaned over and placed a light kiss on the back of Elena's neck before he walked around to face her. "You really did that?"

"All over the front of the room yesterday. So embarrassing..." Just the thought of the mixture of smells in the cafeteria was enough to make her stomach turn again. "Thankfully, there's a stomach bug going around." She bit the inside of her cheek. "But that excuse isn't going to last for long."

"And that's why you needed to tell Jeremy today?" He guided her to the couch, sat down, and pulled her onto his lap.

Her eyes widened in surprise at the affectionate gesture since he'd scarcely placed a hand on her since he'd found out about the baby. "I thought he deserved to be one of the first to know."

"How'd he take it?" Damon took her hand in his.

Elena sighed. "He was surprised, but it isn't the worst thing I've told him over the past two years." She rolled her eyes and leaned back deeper into the couch. "I took him out to the lake house. Ironically, I picked the exact spot where Dad had delivered his birds and bees discussion." Sitting on the edge of the dock, Jeremy had found that detail utterly hilarious, commenting that perhaps his sister should have been along for that father/son moment. Elena hadn't found it nearly as funny as her brother did. She'd been strongly tempted to push him into the water.

"Elena," he brought her wrist to his lips and kissed it tenderly. "This isn't a bad thing." He rested his hand on her belly. "The timing might not be perfect..."

"I'm a high school senior, Damon. Saying it isn't perfect is like saying Ric kind of likes alcohol."

"But that doesn't mean I love either one of you any less." His eyes burned into hers.

Elena's eyes sparkled with emotion. "You're not mad?"

He cupped her cheeks in his hands. "I'm definitely not mad." Smiling, he lowered his face to hers and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "How are you feeling?" He hesitated.

She paused and checked the status of her stomach. "Fine."

"That's good." His lips crashed back into hers and took her breath away. He tangled his fingers in her hair as he lowered her onto the couch.

Elena ran her hand over the hint of stubble on his cheek. He'd been getting ready that morning when she'd run into the hall bathroom. With his vampire hearing, he detected what was wrong, and he'd instantly been at her side and held her up while she fought a losing battle with breakfast. Obviously, he'd never finished getting dressed. The dark shadow on his cheeks was incredibly sexy. She moaned into his embrace.

Overcome with need for what he'd been denying himself over the past weeks, Damon didn't hesitate as he saw her eyes darken with excitement. He tugged her sweater over her head and growled at the sight before him. Her belly might still be smooth, but her body had definitely already begun changing in preparation for his child. He cupped her breasts in his hands through the pink lace of her bra, and smiled - two things had definitely changed.

He reached for the clasp between the mounds of creamy flesh and freed her breasts for his exploration. "Gorgeous." Resting one hand on the couch for support, he leaned over her and toyed with one nipple as he rolled it between his fingers while he sucked the other nipple into his mouth, circling his tongue around the sensitive mound of flesh.

She arced into his touch and pulled his head more firmly against her. He grazed her nipple with his teeth and she hissed in pleasure. Working his way from one side of her chest to the other, he left no inch of skin untouched.

Damon's growing excitement pressed almost painfully into her belly, and Elena could no longer deny the fire that burned within her. "Damon." Her hips arced against his. Her doe eyes pleaded with him as she guided his hand to the buckle of her jeans.

Knowing they might be dealing with a very narrow window between Elena's trips to the bathroom, he needed no further encouragement. Slow and tender would have to wait for another day.

Her jeans and underwear were off in a blur, and his followed quickly after. He paused to admire the sight of her completely open and vulnerable to him. With her dark hair fanned out across the leather sofa, she'd never looked more tantalizing.

"What?" Her cheeks reddened under his hungry gaze.

"You're amazing." He gently spread her legs apart, bringing her knees to either side of his hips. After swirling a finger around her opening to assure himself of her readiness, he cautiously positioned himself atop her. The lecture he'd received from her doctor the night before fresh in his mind, he slid inside her with measured thrusts.

Elena strained against him, and tried to pull him deeper for more sensation against her tender flesh. But he was stronger. Instead, he reached between them and caressed her most sensitive skin with his fingertips as he continued to rock inside her at an agonizingly slow pace.

Only when she was trembling against him and her lips curled in a satisfied smile did he allow himself the release he so desperately needed.

* * *

><p>"Are you hungry?" He tucked a tendril of her once-sweaty hair behind her ear as she slowly blinked her eyes open. Curled with her cheek against the bare skin of his chest, she twisted the cool cotton sheet around her finger.<p>

"A little." She gave him a contented smile.

He kissed the tip of her nose. "That's good. Get dressed." He slid his hand over her breast one last time, as if reluctant to have it hidden from view. "We're going to celebrate."

"Isn't that what we've been doing? On the couch...in front of the fire...here?" She slid the palm of her hand over the mattress.

"Oh no." He once again met her lips with his and placed a lingering kiss on them. "This was an apology...for ever giving you reason to doubt I was anything less than happy about this." He palmed her belly, imagining it swollen with his baby growing inside her. "Tonight, we're going to celebrate because you're giving me two things I never thought I deserved."

"Two things?"

"This baby." He kissed her stomach. "And you." He looked up into her eyes with unsated need. Brown eyes met blue in unspoken communication. Dinner would still have to wait.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note: This chapter and chapter 8 will both begin with a bit of a time skip. I don't want to go heavy on the filler chapters, and I'd like to get to the next section of the story.

Warnings: Mature, sensitive subject matter, adult content, language, violence

* * *

><p>Damon answered the door on the second knock and held a finger to his lips as he ushered Liz Forbes into the house. "Shh." He pointed to Elena sleeping on the couch in the living room, complete with history textbook folded over her chest. If she was going to finish her report, he knew he was going to have to wake her up soon, but it was far simpler if his conversation with Liz happened while Elena was safely asleep.<p>

"Sorry, I don't think I woke her up." Sheriff Forbes stretched onto her tiptoes to try to see if Elena was giving any hint of moving.

Pausing mid-step, Damon focused on listening to Elena breathing - no change. "No, she's still out cold. It takes a lot to wake her up right now."

"That'll change." Liz shook her head. "Just wait till she's six months along. I woke up every three hours to run to the bathroom."

"Oh, we're already there." Elena's frequent trips down the hall at night made him more than a little thankful that vampires actually needed very little sleep. He stared pointedly at the manilla folder tucked under her arm. "I take it you're not here for a friendly chat since you called and said you had to meet right now."

He sat in one of the leather armchairs across from the fireplace and waited for her to take a seat on the couch.

"I've heard a few things." She slid the folder onto the table. "And these just came through the fax machine. I thought you'd want to see them."

Damon reached for the folder and unsealed it carefully. Pulling the stack of pages out, he paged through them quickly. After studying all the pictures of the young women he sat back in the chair and shook his head in annoyance.

"He's still working his way farther away from here." Liz pointed to the map indicating the towns the FBI's top profiler had judged to be the _New Jack the Ripper's _most recent kills.

"It's definitely still Stefan." Damon placed the photographs side-by-side...all female, all with long, chocolate brown hair.

Liz cut her eyes to the doorway. "He doesn't seem to vary from his type."

"He's more in control than I thought."

"You call this in control?" She pointed to a picture of a young woman whose face was so mangled the family had difficulty even using dental records to identify her. Thankfully, she had a personalized tattoo on her ankle to assist with the gruesome task.

"He's waiting to feed until he finds exactly who he wants. If he weren't in control, they wouldn't all look like her. We'd be looking at a pile of random pictures instead of this. And that means he's even more dangerous." Damon shifted forward in his seat and templed his fingers. He knew what Elena had told Stefan that night, but even after she'd experienced a night with him, she didn't really comprehend what his brother was capable of. Time to bring him home again...or at least keep him from continuing his path of destruction if they couldn't easily control him. "I can't wait any longer." He looked suspiciously in the direction of the living room. Elena's breathing had become more shallow. "I'll talk to Ric. We'll leave Saturday morning. Can you?" He nodded toward Elena.

"I'll have Caroline invite her over for a sleepover." Liz slowly stood and reached out to shake his hand. "Good luck."

* * *

><p>Elena stretched her arm as far as she could reach and hung the tissue-paper snowflake from the hall ceiling. The plastic step stool rocked under her feet.<p>

"Whoa!" Matt grabbed hold of her arm and steadied her. "What are you doing up there?" He didn't let go until she'd backed down the stool and was standing face to face with him.

"I'm helping hang snowflakes for the craft fair." To be fair, Caroline had gestured to a pile of decorations and said to put them up. She doubted that Caroline knew she was climbing a ladder hanging snowflakes from the ceiling. The blonde vampire had become beyond protective of Elena in recent days. Even though her official title was now manager of the cheerleading squad, she seemed to spend as much time or more on cheerleading-related duties than when she was in the cheer squad. She couldn't complain too much, since her position kept her from having to take PE.

Matt looked at her in frustration. "I can see that. I meant why were you on a ladder?" The hallways more mostly dark and empty since school had ended two hours earlier. Elena had laughed when she saw Caroline had successfully talked both Matt and Tyler into helping with the set-up activities.

"Why shouldn't I be on a ladder?"

"Um, well, you know." He shuffled back and forth as he avoided looking into her eyes. Finally, his clear blue eyes looked seriously into hers. He pointed at her stomach. "You shouldn't be climbing a ladder."

Elena frowned. Damon had sidestepped answering her question that morning when she'd needed help picking out a sweater that didn't scream _I have a baby bump. _She'd chosen the more forgiving of the two long sweaters to wear over the yoga pants she was now thankful that Caroline insisted she add to her wardrobe. Her normal jeans no longer zipped, and she wasn't ready to resort to maternity jeans. Apparently, the flowing long sweater wasn't enough. "How long have you known?"

"A few weeks." He winced when she didn't deny it. "No one gets to leave Mrs. Lindly-Meeks' class, and you seem to have some kind of free pass."

Elena took a seat on the top of the stool. Having math first period used to be a chore to stay awake. Now, it was more a test of will as she begged her stomach to calm down so she could listen to the lecture. "She doesn't want a repeat of what happened in Mr. Saltzman's class." She absently rubbed her kneecaps with her palms. "And that's the only way you guessed."

Matt laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. "You really want to know?"

"We've been friends forever." She cast a teasing glare up in his direction. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't want the truth."

Matt frowned as if he'd been asked to pick the way he'd most like to die. "You'd lost a ton of weight, and then you started gaining it back...but only one place. The long shirts helped for a while, but when you hold your books, your shirt stretches tighter against your stomach."

"And you can see the baby."

Visibly flinching at the word baby, Matt nodded and took a seat on the ground next to Elena so she'd stop having to arch her back to look up at him. "You're really having a baby."

"June 22nd." For the first time in weeks, she relaxed in a school hallway. She'd thought the suspicious eyes she'd felt studying her in the hallways had been a product of her imagination. Apparently not. She ran her hand slowly over her barely-swollen abdomen.

"That's your birthday."

"My own personal birthday surprise." Elena smiled and yawned into her fist. "You remembered."

"I've gone to every one of your parties - kind of hard to forget." He stared at her stomach, an unasked question poised on his lips.

"Whatever's bothering you, you can ask." After three visits to two obstetricians, since Damon refused to allow her to return to the doctor who'd been so condescending on her first visit, she'd gotten more than accustomed to personal questions.

"Is that why Stefan left?"

"The baby? Is that what everyone's saying?"

Matt shrugged. "I try to stay out of that. You could ask Care. But is that why he left?"

Elena braced her hand against the top of the stool. She'd forgotten that most of her classmates didn't realize that Stefan had been gone the entire summer. "No. I asked him to leave." And each time she read the report of another girl gone missing or a string of unsolved murders in a town - no matter the distance - she felt an overwhelming sting of guilt.

"But it _is_ his?"

Elena shook her head. "No." She paused and smiled. "The baby's Damon's."

Matt let out a low whistle. "You don't waste any time."

"Ouch!" She shoved his shoulder. "Actually, um, Damon and me...we were kind of inevitable."

"I hope so." He dropped his gaze to her stomach again.

"Just be glad we weren't still together, or this little one would likely be yours."

_"Ouch! _Way to rub it in." Matt's eyebrows arched in shock. "Not to mention, that unless I remember incorrectly...that's biologically impossible."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Elena hung her head in her hands.

Matt hesitated. "Pretty sure something has to happen first."

"Trust me." Elena slid her hands over her face and rested her chin on her fist. "This is going to sound crazy, but my family has a curse that somehow seems to ensure teenage pregnancy."

"I'm dating a vampire, Elena. I've learned to accept crazy." Matt gave her a longing look. "So does that mean you and Damon never?"

"Oh no, we've..." Elena gave a sheepish grin.

"You know, I don't think I want to know any more." Matt stood and waved for her to stop. "But you're feeling okay? I've seen you running to the bathroom an awful lot." He picked up one of the snowflakes on the ground and motioned for her to move out of the way.

She watched him climb up the step ladder and take her place. "I'm feeling better, thanks. I've officially gone all day without getting sick a single time."

"A momentous occasion."

Elena glared at Matt. "You try throwing up three times a day for two months and see how much you like it."

"What's all the chatter here?" Caroline rounded the corner. "More snowflakes...less talking." She pointed at the pile of decorations still to be hung.

"Don't look at me." Matt pointed to Elena. "I came up the hall just in time to catch her before she fell."

"I wasn't falling."

"Yeah," Matt nodded to Caroline, "she was."

"Damon would_ kill_ me." Caroline's eyes widened in horror as she caught sight of the clock on the wall. "Speaking of, I shouldn't have kept you so late."

"I'm fine."

"That's why you're yawning." Caroline linked elbows with Elena as she began to usher her to the parking lot. "After the craft fair, you're coming to my house tomorrow night, right? I bought nail polish and magazines."

"Why do I feel like I'm being baby sat?" Elena paused next to her car and faced off with Caroline.

"I don't know what you mean."

"You're a horrible liar." Elena crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited. "Damon's going somewhere, isn't he? I heard him talking to your mom."

Caroline shrugged her shoulders. "He and Ric are going to go look for Stefan. They're trying to follow his trail."

* * *

><p>"Were you going to tell me?" Elena dropped her books on the armchair next to the fireplace.<p>

Damon walked from the kitchen, drying his hands. One look at her worried expression and he swallowed his snarky reply. "Liz shouldn't have told Caroline."

"Were you?"

Damon stared at Elena - waiting to see if she'd stomp her foot - which was a definite possibility based on the look on her face. "No." He tossed the dishrag over his shoulder onto the counter in the kitchen. Walking slowly to her, he saw her lip begin to tremble and he reached for her hand and pulled her down onto the couch next to him. "I didn't want you to know."

She swallowed thickly. "So you just wanted me to hang out with Caroline and pretend everything was okay?" The sparkling lights of the Christmas tree in the corner of the room reflected off her face but did little to brighten her mood.

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. "No." He leaned forward and rested his forehead against the back of her head, breathing in her scent. "I wanted you to have one night to be normal...one night when you didn't have to worry about who my brother might be attacking." He kissed the back of her neck. "You talk in your sleep. I know you think about it." Damon pulled her back against his chest and he idly stroked her arms. "One normal night, where you can do each other's nails, look at pictures of prom dresses in magazines..."

"Oh, like I'm_ so_ going to prom." Elena couldn't hold back her laughter as she turned back to him and rolled her eyes.

Damon laced his fingers with hers. "I wouldn't count it out."

"It's April 10th, Damon. I'll be..." She paused and counted in her head for a moment. "I'll be 30 weeks by then. I'm sure I'd look lovely, waddling on the dance floor."

"And you'd still be the most gorgeous one there." He brought their entwined hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"You're just trying to distract me." She shook her head and glared daggers at him.

Damon smirked and did his eye thing. "Is it working?" He trailed kisses up the back of her arm. "I want you to have a night off from all this with your best friend - do girl stuff, be a teenager. Don't worry about us."

"Normal night." Elena sighed deeply. "I understand." She chewed her lip to try to stop it from trembling.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He tilted her face to look into his.

"I've seen him. He threw you through the air like you were a wad of newspaper." Her hands started shaking. "He's stronger than you are."

"I'll have Ric with me. Last time we were fighting Klaus too. Just trying to take down Stefan, the two of us should be just fine."

"_Should_." She placed heavy emphasis on his choice of words as her eyes pleaded with his. "I can't loose anyone else, Damon." Tears flowed down her cheeks. "_We_ can't lose you." She took his hand in hers and placed it atop the bulge in the center of her belly.

He lovingly slid his hand over the place on Elena's belly where his future child was safely tucked away. "You won't."


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note: Yep, as I mentioned in the last chapter, we've done another time skip. I really didn't want to burden the story with too much "filler," and we need to move farther into Elena's pregnancy (and I didn't want a funky vampire-hybrid-baby that develops too fast).

Warnings: violence, adult content, sensitive subject matter, language

* * *

><p>Elena's head snapped in the direction of the opening door as she was lying on the cushioned examination table with a thin pink blanket covering her legs. For the first time since she'd entered the room, she appeared to relax.<p>

"You're cutting it close." Dr. Morton gave a warning glare as she looked up from pouring the warmed gel onto Elena's belly.

"Sorry." Damon grinned sheepishly as he reached for Elena's offered hand. She pulled him closer to her side as her eyes swept over his face, noting the new brilliant red scratches just above his collar. "I've been doing some _traveling _for business. I had a little trouble catching a flight this morning." He placed his other hand atop their entwined fingers. "But, I wouldn't miss this."

Elena forced her eyes away from examining Damon for any new signs of defensive wounds. If the Petrova tradition held true, this would be the only time she experienced being pregnant, and she didn't want to miss this moment.

"Ready to see your little one?" Dr. Morton smiled at Elena. "I remember when you were just learning to walk. Hard to believe you're having a baby now." She shook her head as she placed the hand-held device against Elena's very rounded belly. "These first few scans are for me. Then we'll take a little tour."

The doctor slid the device low on Elena's stomach and began making a series of clicks recorded on the ultrasound machine. Her brow furrowed for a moment and she tapped Elena's skin lightly.

"Is something wrong?" Damon studied the woman with the intensity of a predator.

"No." She shook her head. "Just needed the baby to move a bit." Elena shifted her hips and let out a low breath. "Are you okay?"

Nodding, Elena squeezed Damon's hand. "Remind me why I needed a full bladder for this."

"You can feel the baby moving?" Damon looked at her in surprise.

Elena rolled her eyes. "You've been gone a while. Things happen kind of fast around here these days."

Damon looked down at Elena's stomach, even if he weren't a vampire, he'd be able to tell how much she'd changed just in the two weeks he'd been away. She'd been more than a little annoyed when she finally had to break down and let Caroline take her shopping the weekend before. Absolutely nothing in her closet, or Damon's for that matter, would fit over their growing child.

Alaric hadn't been able to take such an extended absence from school, so Damon was working alone...only adding to Elena's stress level. He'd called to check in every night, but the strain of his absence - and the reason behind it - had shown plainly on her face during each conversation. When he'd called her to tell her that he'd found the vampire currently terrorizing Mobile, her face had taken on a shadow of fear. As he explained the now-very-much-dead vampire wasn't the one he sought, he'd been unable to read the emotion in her face. She wanted Stefan safely tucked in the Salvatore vampire-reformatory, but she didn't want Damon to have to kill his brother.

"Ready to meet your baby?" Dr. Morton's words jarred him back to the present as she tilted the ultrasound screen in their direction. The tiny face was in profile, even Elena's untrained eyes could see that the little one was sucking its thumb. "I'll save this one for one of your pictures." Across the room, a printer sprung to life.

A tear curved down Elena's cheek as they looked at all ten fingers and all ten toes. She could even see the fluttering of a tiny heart.

"So?" Dr. Morton's machine hovered over the baby's stomach. "Do you want to know the answer to _the _question?"

Damon raised an eyebrow in Elena's direction. They'd discussed it, but he wasn't sure if they had reached a final decision. This time, he'd let her decide. "Do we?"

Elena nodded. "We do."

Laughing, Dr. Morton slid the mouse-like unit lower. Waiting a moment until the baby's in-utero gymnastics brought the between the area between the little one's legs came into view, she clicked the mouse again. "This one isn't too shy. The last mom and dad in this room weren't this lucky. It's a girl."

* * *

><p>"So?" Caroline ran to Elena's side and gave her best attempt at a lopsided hug over the textbooks in her hands without crushing Elena. "How'd it go?" She cringed. "Please tell me Damon made it." If he'd missed the ultrasound, Caroline had a feeling her friend would find a way to un-invite Damon from his own house.<p>

Elena nodded as she pulled the last of her afternoon's books from her locker. "Barely. He walked in just as the doctor had gotten to the room." She juggled her books as she tried to reach into her purse. "I have pictures."

Caroline pulled Elena's books from her arms. "Well, let me see." She leaned over Elena's purse to get a better look.

Elena reached for a heavy cardboard envelope. "Here they are." Carefully pulling out the thin sheets, she held them out for Caroline's inspection. "Toes." She nodded to the photo that looked like a tiny footprint. She skimmed through the others. "This one's my favorite." She smiled at Caroline. "She's sucking her thumb."

"It's a girl?" Caroline practically bounced with excitement.

Elena's grin widened as she put the pictures back in the envelope with care. Dropping the envelope back into her purse, she reached for her books as she walked at Caroline's side to go to her afternoon classes.

"That's just sick." A voice came out from the middle of a cluster of the members of the football team. Dirk Stevens followed Caroline and Elena, careful to stay just far enough behind them so they couldn't hear his words. Of course, he didn't realize one of the girls he was talking about was actually a vampire, and she was quite aware of his comments. Caroline glanced briefly back over her shoulder and wrapped an arm around Elena while continuing to get the play-by-play of the morning's doctor's appointment. The two girls pushed open the door to cross the courtyard on their way to the fine arts building.

Dirk didn't let Elena leaving break his train of thought. He looked back and forth between the friends at his side. "It's one thing that she went and got herself knocked up, but she shouldn't be showing those pictures in the hall. Can't have all the girls wanting one." He shook his head as the boys around him mumbled agreement. "First Donovan, then Salvatore. I bet she doesn't eve know whose baby it is." His lip curled in scorn. "Slut."

"What did you say?" Jeremy turned and faced off with the well-muscled teen.

"I'm pretty sure I called your sister a slut."

Jeremy's anger at the whole situation was unleashed on the cocky football player. It wasn't her fault she was part of some age-old ritual.

_Slam!_ His fist connected with Dirk's jaw. He knocked Dirk into the bank of lockers. She couldn't help the fact that some witch decided that 18 was the perfect age for a Petrova to get pregnant.

_Crash! _"Don't call her a slut just because she refused to go to homecoming with you." Jeremy got one more good hit in that dropped Dirk to his knees.

Then, the rest of the football team came to their running back's defense. Quickly surrounded, Jeremy saw stars as someone's fist bounced off his cheek. Soon the hall was filled with screams and cheers as the violence escalated.

"Hey!" Matt began peeling the team off Jeremy just as the first teachers arrived on the scene. "Stop it!" He grabbed hold of Dirk's collar and jerked him away from Jeremy. "What's going on?"

Jeremy looked up through the blood dripping down his forehead. "He called Elena a slut."

Matt took one look at Dirk before propelling his team-mate into the bank of lockers. "Don't talk about Elena like that." He brought his fist up under Dirk's chin.

"Break it up!" Alaric's voice echoed through the hall as he waded through the crowd that had assembled to watch the fight, ducking as a wild punch almost connected with his face. "Stop it." He positioned himself between Matt and Dirk while standing in front of Jeremy as the teenager attempted to get back on his feet. Anger came off all three young men in waves as blood dripped off their faces. "Nurse first, then principal." Standing in between the two apparent sides of the fight, the four made their way down the hallway.

* * *

><p>"What were you thinking?" Elena squeezed the disciplinary form so tightly in her hand that it began to crumble. She circled the couch where her brother sat with an ice pack on his face. "I mean, really, Jeremy...the judge didn't want me to have custody of you in the first place. Now, this? What if they try to take you away?" Her lip trembled as she studied her brother's battered face.<p>

"I'm sorry, Elena." He looked at her though his one good eye. "I didn't think about that."

"It's okay." Elena gently probed the cut on his forehead. She glanced up at Alaric. "And the nurse didn't think he needed stitches?"

"The butterflies should work." Alaric stood with his hands folded across his chest. He hadn't been able to get any of the story as to what prompted the fight out of Jeremy, but some of the spectators had been more than willing to talk. He knew why Jeremy threw the punch, and that news was likely why Jeremy was only facing a single day's suspension.

"And you're still not going to tell me what you were fighting about?" Elena glared at her brother.

Jeremy shook his head. "Dirk just likes to talk."

A soft knock sounded at the door. Elena slowly stood to go answer. "Keep that ice pack on your face." Walking from the living room, she let out a long, slow breath as she went to answer the door - fully expecting to see an agent from Child Services on her doorstep. The judge had warned both of them that if Jeremy stepped one toe out of line that he'd be sent to a teen foster care facility since the Gilberts seemed to be out of relatives. "Caroline." A weight lifted off Elena's shoulders.

"Expecting someone else?"

Elena leaned against the entryway wall. "Actually, yes."

"Like the guy with a bad combover in a blue suit who is now convinced that Jeremy was acting in self defense, and you're doing an excellent job of raising your little brother?"

Elena's eyes widened. "You didn't?"

Caroline didn't appear the slightest bit guilty. "They really should consider adding vervain to the town's water supply."

"Caroline, what if they find out?"

"They won't." She stepped closer to Elena and whispered. "Don't be so hard on your brother."

"Did you see him?" Elena gestured toward the living room.

"I don't need to. I know why he did it."

"Ric's not mad. You're telling me to go easy on him. No one is telling me why. What happened at school today?" Elena faced off with Caroline.

"He was defending you." Caroline watched as the anger flowed out of Elena's face. "Dirk was listening to us when you were showing me the pictures from the ultrasound." She stroked Elena's arm. "He called you a slut. And then Jeremy punched him."

Elena covered her mouth with her fingertips and shook her head. "That's why he wouldn't tell me what he was fighting about."

"He didn't want you to get upset."

"Does Ric know?"

"Probably." Caroline nodded. "Since Matt and Dirk are 18, they called my mom. She got the whole story. Ric was in the room at the time."

"Matt was in on it?" Somehow Elena had missed that detail.

"He wouldn't let anyone talk about you like that either. Dirk was just lucky I was trying to get you out of the hallway. Imagine his reputation if a cheerleader brought him to his knees." Caroline tried to draw a laugh out of Elena as the they walked into the living room. "Anybody need some vampire first aid?"

Jeremy flinched as he tried to laugh. "No. I'll be okay."

"Jeremy." Elena tried to balance as she crouched in front of her brother. "You should have told me what happened."

He glared at Caroline. "That would have kind of defeated the point. I didn't want you to know what he said."

"And that's why he only has one day off?" She looked to Alaric for confirmation.

He nodded in agreement. "Mr. Riggins thought the extenuating circumstances warranted a lighter punishment than normal."

"Do you need an aspirin or something?" She looked sadly at her brother, now realizing each bruise was a badge of honor he'd earned protecting her.

Jeremy shifted the ice bag's placement on his forehead and grinned through his split lip. "That would be a good thing."

She stood and walked into the kitchen and began to rummage through the medicine cabinet. Antacids. Vitamins no one took. The prenatal vitamins she did take. Allergy medicine. No aspirin. She had a bottle in her messenger bag but that was still in her car. "I'll be right back in. Just have to grab the bottle in my car."

Grabbing her car keys off the cabinet, she ducked out the back door and walked down the gravel driveway to where she'd parked her car on the street in front of her house. She unlocked the door and leaned over the back seat as she dug through her bag to find the little white bottle. Taking it in hand, she pushed herself off the seat with difficulty and walked up the sidewalk to the front of her house.

"Hello, Elena."

Freezing at the sound of the familiar smooth-as-satin voice, Elena didn't even have to turn around to know who stood behind her as she climbed up the stairs onto the porch. Out of instinct, she dropped the bottle of aspirin and covered her stomach with her hands.

"This," he mounted the steps one at a time, "is an unexpected surprise." He held a finger over his lips in an unspoken threat. He shook his head and eyed the door.

Elena needed to be quiet. She understood.

Stalking slowly around her, his eyes stayed fixed on her hands spread protectively over her rounded belly. He laughed to himself. "Klaus said I'd be waiting years until I had the chance to break my curse. Looks like he was wrong."

Elena took a step back as he approached her, and he gave her a malevolent grin. The very fact that he seemed totally in control frightened her more than it would have if he'd allowed himself to transform to his true self.

"You didn't wait very long." His eyes roamed over her body, taking in all the subtle and not-so-subtle changes that arrived over the past few weeks. "Let me guess," he stroked his chin. "You and Matt worked out after all."

Too scared to make a sound, Elena stayed motionless, fixed in place.

Stefan charged at her and caught her arm just below the shoulder. Hefting her off her feet, he spat into her face. "Can't let Caroline overhear our discussion." He dragged her down the stairs in the direction of the vacant house down the street. "Whose is it?"

Wincing, she futilely tried to pull his fingers away, and his grip tightened until the bones in her arm felt as if they were breaking. "I asked you a question."

"Not Matt's."

He shoved her onto the porch of the abandoned house, and they were hidden from view from the street by the overgrown vines and bushes. Understanding slowly dawned on Stefan's face. His voice little more than a whisper, he knocked her back against the wall and a shower of peeling paint rained over her head. "Damon's. Klaus gave him his blood..." Black veins encircled his eyes as he fought for control. He threw her to the ground with such force all the air left her lungs. He cocked his head to the side as he straddled her. "_I care about Damon, but I love you, Stefan, you."_ He mocked the words she'd pledged to him years ago.

Seizing hold of her hair, he lifted her her to her feet as tears of pain filled her eyes. His words took on a lethal edge. "I _always_ knew. It doesn't matter, you've made your choice." Her hair still wrapped around one fist, he held her tightly in place as he caressed her bulging stomach. He lowered his lips to her ear, and his fangs scratched lightly at her skin of her earlobe as he whispered, "Take care of her for me. She's irreplaceable."

He released her and her legs couldn't hold her weight. She dropped to the ground on her hands and knees. He disappeared with a blur as Elena fought to stand and get back to the relatively safety of her house.

"Elena?" Alaric cracked open the front door just in time to catch Elena as she dropped back to her knees.


	9. Chapter 9

Warnings: Sensitive subject matter, violence, language, adult content, character death

I still don't own TVD.

Author's note: Sorry for the delay. I've been dealing with an insanely sick Bud, and I just haven't had a coherent minute to sit down and write. Pretty sure this is going to be an insanely short chapter, but I wanted to "un-cliffhanger" everyone. Three more chapters to go.

* * *

><p>"I found <em>a <em>vampire, just not _the _vampire we were looking for." Damon frowned deeply as he pushed the photograph of the gray-veined young man across the desk in Sheriff Forbes' direction. He pulled the deputy's badge from his pocket and placed it on the desktop. "Yes, four young women with long, dark hair died in his county over the past two months. But five other people who didn't fit the pattern did too."

The side of Liz's face drew up in a grimace. "Then why'd he submit the deaths to the registry?" She scooted her chair back and walked to the bulletin board they used to track the string of deaths. Since the first gruesome murder had occurred in Mystic Falls, she'd been placed on the task force along with members of the FBI and state police. Thankfully, that level of responsibility made it simple to have one of her deputies assisting with the investigation. Damon had easy access to the different members involved in tracking Stefan without compelling law enforcement officers across the country.

Damon shrugged. "He was young. Definite eager-beaver type. I think he saw the hair and just wanted to be on the news." He drew his eyebrow into his hairline as he shook his head in annoyance. He'd spent two weeks away from Elena...and their bed...for nothing. While she was more than supportive of his quest to end his brother's trail of blood, she'd also hinted that she was feeling _much _better. He glanced at the clock on the wall and fought back a satisfied grin. She should be home from school by now.

"...Damon?" Liz leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

"You were saying?"

"I asked if you were leaving again." Liz cocked her head to the side and stared at Damon's neck. "And what happened there?"

Damon shook his head. "No more leads." He rubbed his hand over the pink lines. "This?" His eyes flicked up awaiting her nod. "The guy was new, but he seemed to know that a branch made a really good weapon. Can't get it all out." His phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out, he took a quick look at the caller ID.

_Alaric. _

He ran his finger over the screen to answer the call. "Hey Ric. What's up?" Sheriff Forbes looked on as his face turned to stone. "I'll be right there." He shot out of the chair, but Liz caught hold of his arm.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Elena."

* * *

><p>"She won't tell us what happened." Jeremy began talking before the front door was totally open. "Elena went outside and didn't come back in. When she did..." He nodded to Elena as she sat curled in on herself on the end of the couch.<p>

"I caught her as she fell in the door." Alaric added as he held the phone to his ear. He turned and walked deeper into the house. "Right, we can't tell exactly what happened, but she did loose consciousness for about five minutes." He nodded as whoever he was speaking to at the doctor's office gave him instructions over the phone.

Caroline walked in nervous circles at the back of the room, taking an occasional glance in Elena's direction. Damon had left Elena in her care...and she'd badly failed.

Damon was at Elena's side so quickly, he was a blur. He knelt in front of her and looked up into her face. With a tenderness no one else in the room other than Elena had ever witnessed from him, he cautiously extended his fingertips and brushed her disheveled hair out from in front of her face. "Elena?" He tilted his head to the side as he took in her appearance. Blood trickling from the corner of her lip, her face ashen, her hands shook as her arms were tightly crossed over her belly. "Sweetheart?" He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

Her horror-filled eyes slowly traveled up to meet his. Flinching as she attempted to swallow, he noticed the pale purple outline of a handprint around her neck. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she attempted to speak. "Stefan." Her voice as raspy as if she'd just swallowed gravel, she continued. "He was here." She fought to take a breath. "And he was mad."

* * *

><p>Damon paced the too-bright corridor - at war with himself. He'd been pursing his brother for the better part of a month. Where did Stefan turn up? Here.<p>

He needed to find Stefan...put a stop to his string of deaths. But that would mean leaving Elena, and that was something he refused to do any longer. He'd be at her side even now, but he was apparently distracting the emergency room workers. It had taken Caroline, Liz, and Ric to pull him from her side.

In the end, it was Elena's gentle nod that prevented a struggle in the ER.

So now, he stood in the hallway and waited. Waiting was never something he'd done well.

"Mr. Salvatore?" Elena's obstetrician...what's her name... pulled the door closed behind her. Apparently having an emergency during office hours earned a visit by her own doctor. "Didn't expect to see you again twice in the same day." Her lips formed a tight line, despite her attempt at humor. "Why don't you come with me?" She backed into the door she'd just walked through. Her eyes roamed over the other concerned faces staring back at her. She stopped as she stared at Sheriff Forbes. "I might need you too." Crooking her index finger to indicate Liz should follow them, the doctor led the way into the hallway leading into the emergency room. "It's my understanding she had a run-in with an ex-boyfriend."

Liz nodded in agreement.

"Have you spoken with Elena?" She addressed Liz.

"I've taken her statement."

"I hope she plans to prosecute." Dr. Morton sighed and crossed her arms. "I've seen too many cases when these girls don't think their boyfriends can do anything wrong."

Sheriff Forbes shook her head. "Trust me. I've known Elena a long time." She stared back farther into the room as a nurse entered the curtained off area, catching a glimpse of the petite young woman on the gurney. "She's not that kind of girl."

"How is she?" Damon wasn't content to wait any longer as the women discussed the fact his brother had hurt her.

"He was apparently _very _angry." Her green eyes looked on Damon with concern. "He tossed her around like a rag doll. She's lucky. We can't find any internal injuries, but breathing seems to be uncomfortable. She'll be sore for a few days at least. Her bruising is extensive. The worst of the it is on her back and her left arm. She has an almost perfect handprint." Her jaw clinched as she shook her head. "She's refusing x-rays, but as far as we can tell, we don't think anything's broken. If the arm starts to swell or if she uses any more use of it, we're going to need to take an x-ray. I'm still not convinced there isn't a fracture there." Letting out a long breath, she continued.

"The baby?" Liz asked the question Damon hadn't had the control to voice.

The doctor nodded. "Heartbeat's still strong. We've had Elena on a monitor for an hour. There's no sign of contractions - no bleeding." She turned back to Damon. "But she's not out of the woods. She suffered a great deal of trauma, sometimes that takes a few days to show up."

"What does that mean? Will the baby be alright?" The amount of concern on Damon's face surprised Liz. Still relatively new to the idea that the man she'd come to see as a confident and friend was actually a vampire, she wasn't prepared for the realization that he was truly worried about his unborn child. She'd been able to see that he cared for Elena, but she'd assumed that the baby on the way was more of a liability than...something more.

"For now, it means that Elena's taking the rest of the week off from school." Dr. Morton looked solemnly at Damon. "She's on bedrest until Monday. I've already explained it to her, but that means that unless she's going to the bathroom, her feet don't hit the ground." She gave Damon an appraising look. "Do I need to admit her or does she have someone who can take care of her?"

Damon looked in the direction of the curtained-off area of the emergency room. He could hear a nurse speaking softly to Elena, but there were too many other conversations and noises in the area to make out exactly what was being said. Even through the ambient noise, he could hear the tension in her voice as she spoke with her attendant. Nodding without a second thought, he didn't want to stand there and talk any longer. He needed to be with Elena. "She does."

* * *

><p>Damon smoothed the blanket down over Elena's feet. They'd given her something at the hospital for the pain and to calm her down, but he wasn't sure of what it was. He'd been paying too much attention to the bruises just becoming evident on her face to fully pay attention to the more minute details.<p>

Whatever they'd given her...it was good stuff.

He wasn't certain if she'd be able to walk up the stairs even if he'd given her the opportunity. Had Sheriff Forbes pulled her over for driving under the influence, she definitely would have failed the _walk the line _test.

As she'd cringed placing her foot on the bottom step of the stairwell, he'd come behind her and scooped her effortlessly into his arms. Cradling her against his chest, Damon made his way carefully up the stairway and settled her into the middle of his bed. This was not how he'd planned to spend his first night home in two weeks.

"Do you need anything?" He clicked the bedside lamp off. Earlier she'd told him she wasn't hungry. She just wanted the day to be over. He could hardly blame her.

Elena reached out and caught hold of his hand. "Just you." Damon stopped mid-step as he stared down at her. "Please." She pulled him toward the bed as she fought to keep her eyes open. He kicked off his shoes and slid in beside her as she rolled onto her right side and curled against him. "You want to go after him again." She'd fought through her drug-induced haze and her eyes looked on him with perfect clarity.

He reached for a tendril of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. A muscle in his jaw twitched. "He hurt you...I promised that I wouldn't let him touch you again." He tried to run his hand over her arm but stopped when she grimaced.

"It wasn't your fault." She'd fought against breaking down when surrounded by her friends. She'd refused to cry at the hospital. Only now did she lower her guard enough to finally let the tears flow. "Stefan knows about how to break the curse." Her words came out in halting gasps. "He could tell I'm pregnant." At another time, he would have laughed. _Everyone_ could tell she was pregnant. He reached out and rested a hand atop her rounded belly. Elena sniffled into his shoulder. "He said to take care of her...that he'd be coming back for her soon."

Damon's hand tightened over Elena's stomach as his shirt became soaked with her tears.

Stefan hurt Elena.

He threatened their child.

"I'm not going to let that happen." Leaning down, he kissed the top of her head. "I promise that he's not going to hurt her - or you." He'd allowed Elena to convince him to let his brother go once before, but he knew he had no other choice. His brother was going to have to die.

* * *

><p>Author's note: Like I said, I'm sorry this one is short. I hated leaving y'all hanging any longer.<p>

Now it's time for a little honesty from me. I'm having trouble with my TVD fanfic right now. The ending of the premiere left me shattered. I hadn't thought it would interfere with my writing, but it has.

Right now, I'm concentrating on my original stuff - hopefully, I'll have an announcement over the next month (keep your fingers crossed on that point). I will finish the three TVD stories I have in progress (Graduation Day, When the Time Comes, and this story), however I don't have any other stories planned in the future.

As always, thanks for all your amazing support. This story (and my others) wouldn't have existed without you.

D'Ann


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: I'd apologize for this being late, but...looks like I'm not writing on a predictable schedule any longer. I hate to plead "temperamental writer," but it's true. I have to be in the right state of mind to write, and I've had a few bumps at the end of the week that left me really unsettled. Sorry.

Since I was critical last week, I will say that this past week's episode far exceeded my expectations. I really wish it had been the premiere.

Warnings: character death, language, violence, adult content, sensitive subject matter

Rating: mature

I still don't own TVD.

* * *

><p>Damon let out a breath as he approached the battered white house. The last time he'd been here, things hadn't exactly gone well. He wasn't exactly certain why he was here now, but he knew that this would be the best way to keep Elena safe - now to just convince them of that fact. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he decided he had nothing to loose. Well, since they tried that little trick with his ring last time...maybe he did. Even so, he couldn't wait any longer.<p>

He slowly mounted the stairs to the weather-beaten front porch and said a silent prayer that a cloud would block the sun before he really ticked everyone off. He and Emily had been on good terms once, and he hoped she remembered that. Tapping the door, it slid open with an echoing creak. Creatures that had taken residence in the abandoned house scampered out of his way.

Walking into the apparently empty living room, he felt decidedly silly. He had no plan other than to simply talk to into the air hanging around him, but desperate times called for desperate measures - and right now, he was a desperate man. No matter how much he wanted to protect Elena, he knew he wasn't a match for an enraged Stefan in a fight - even if he had Alaric and Caroline on his side. If he wanted to make sure his friends made it out of this battle alive, they needed a secret weapon. For that, he needed a little extra supernatural help.

"Hello!" His eyes roamed the dusty half-light of the late afternoon. He'd spent half the day convincing himself this was a good idea. Right now, listening to the disembodied whispers from the corners of the room, he desperately hoped he wasn't going to tick any of the spirits off too badly. He folded his hands in front of himself and attempted to look contrite.

"I imagine you're wondering why I'm here." He spun around as a wisp of dust swirled in the corner of the room. A cold chill snaked up his spine. "I need your help." He swallowed as an unseen, but easily felt, presence circled him. "Emily, if you're here, you know I upheld my end of the bargain..." he looked down at the floor to avoid looking at the faint smoke now circling the room, "mostly. I did try to save you. But you know I also wanted to save her. She had us both trapped in her spell. And I'm sorry for what I tried to do to Bonnie." He cleared his throat. "I was a different man then."

His eyes locked on the largest column of dust and he gave a half-laugh. "You describe yourselves of the guardians of Mystic Falls. What kind of guardians are you? You've injured one of your own. Bonnie was just trying to undo some of the damage your kind had done. Klaus should never have been allowed to exist - no matter how deeply in debt the original witch was to his family."

The vapor swirled more quickly around him. The skin on his face began to burn in the rays of the sun. He clutched tighter at his ring.

"Hey now!" He took two steps back toward the door. "It may not have been any of you exactly, but if a witch hadn't agreed to make my kind at all...none of us would be in this mess. You wouldn't have been indentured servants, and my brother and I would have died a long time ago like we should have. But it didn't happen that way."

Shoving his hands into his pockets, he turned and addressed the other swirls of dust in the room. "My brother's coming back to undo his curse...the curse one of your kind made sure had an escape clause. The world shouldn't have to face anything like Klaus again...and definitely not at the price I'm going to have to pay."

He squared his shoulders and looked into the darkest corner of the room. "Emily, I kept my promise to protect your children. Now I need you to help me protect my daughter."

* * *

><p>"Do you need anything?" Liz walked into Damon's bedroom with a mug of tea in her hands.<p>

Elena flipped the lid of her laptop computer closed and slid further down in the bed. "No, I'm fine." She looked around with a guilty expression. "I don't need you to stay. I'll be fine."

"Sorry." Liz placed the tea on the nightstand. With Caroline, Alaric, and Jeremy at school, Sheriff Forbes was elected most likely to keep Elena breathing. "I'm going with Damon on this one. You're not in any shape to go running if anyone gets in the house." She pointedly avoided discussing who the most likely candidate to arrive at the Salvatore house would be. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Elena folded the edge of the blanket over the pile of papers on the bed. "I'm just a little sore now. I think I could make it down the stairs." She gave a sheepish grin. "Don't tell Damon I was sitting up."

"Your secret's safe with me." Liz perched on the edge of the bed. "Homework?"

Elena shook her head back and forth. "No." She bit her lip to stop it from shaking.

Sheriff Forbes studied Elena's face before turning her attention to the notepad lying on the bedspread next to the young woman's side. She raised an eyebrow at the heading at the top of the page. "Douglas Children's Services?" Reaching out, she opened the computer and ran a finger over the touchpad. A sad teenager, obviously very pregnant, stared out from the screen. As the side show advanced, a happy couple smiled lovingly at a a bundle in the man's arms. In the background, the teenager sat amid a cluster of friends - smiling and carefree. The message from the website was obvious. "Have you talked with Damon about this?"

Elena's face fell as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"Oh, Baby." Liz slid closer to Elena on the bed and wrapped her arms around her daughter's friend. "No one's really talked with you about this, have they?" In a gesture that strongly reminded Elena of her own mother, Liz swept Elena's hair behind her ears. "Becoming a mom is a big deal. I know you have to miss yours right now. Miranda was one of my best friends. If Caroline were in the same place right now, I'd want Miranda to be there with her. Do you need to talk?"

Her voice breaking, Elena didn't even try to stem the flow of tears. "There's just been...so much happening so fast."

"Anyone in your place would be overwhelmed. I don't blame you." She handed Elena a tissue. "In the past year an a half, you've lost your parents, found out you were adopted, lost both your birth parents, dated two different vampires...and you died." She wiped Elena's cheek for her. "And that's just the short version for what Caroline told me. You have every right to be overwhelmed." Elena sniffled as she blew her nose. "Do you _want_ to keep the baby?" Liz pressed the tea into Elena's hands. Elena needed it more than she did right now.

"I always thought I'd have kids. On the day I thought I was going to turn into a vampire, I remember telling Stefan I wanted to grow up and have a family. I just thought I'd be a little older when it happened." Elena took a hesitant sip from the mug. "I've looked through all my family history. Each of the women only had one child - a girl...when the witches created the curse, they were really specific." She drew in a shaky breath and ran her hand over her belly. "She's part of me. I don't want to give her up, but I don't know if I can keep her safe. She'd be safer if she was hidden with another family - far away from me."

"Would she?"

"I'm no match for Stefan."

"What about Damon?"

Elena's hands shook as she took another drink. "He's been...amazing, but I can't ask him to do this. He shouldn't have to take care of us forever."

"What if he wants to?" Liz squeezed Elena's hand. "You didn't see him at the hospital. I did." She looked squarely into Elena's eyes. "He was just as worried about that little one as he was about you."

"Really?"

Nodding, Liz patted the back of Elena's hand. "Really." She let out a long breath. "I think the two of you need to talk."

* * *

><p>"You've got mail." Damon fanned through a stack of envelopes as he walked into the room. His choked voice confirmed he'd been in the house far longer than she'd thought. <em>Damn vampire hearing.<em>

"How much of the conversation did you hear?" Elena's hands shook as she gripped the edge of the blanket.

Damon sat on the bed and looked into her face. "How much was I supposed to?"

Elena shook her head and didn't look up.

"I know we talked a little about this a few months ago, but I don't think I really ever told you the whole story." He kicked his shoes off and slid under the blanket, carefully tossing the stack of papers to the floor. "Come here." He reached out and pulled her into his chest, tucking her under his arm. He laughed to himself. "It was right here that I told me you would have liked me in 1864. I meant it. But, you would have liked me even better in 1861, but you might have been a little jealous." He trailed his fingertip over her cheek. "It was probably the only time I was living my father's plan for me. I was engaged to a delightful Southern belle named Clara. Pretty little thing - blonde hair, bright green eyes. Her father said we had to wait till she was 16 to marry."

"You were getting married?" Elena widened her eyes in surprise.

He leaned over and studied Elena's face. He nodded grimly. "I might not have had the business sense that Stefan did, but I was doing one thing right in my father's point of view." Damon leaned over and kissed the top of Elena's head. "Back then, it didn't matter how big your plantation was if you didn't have a herd of beautiful grandchildren - you weren't a success in the community. Everywhere we went, always appropriately chaperoned, I might add, the ladies whispered about how beautiful a couple we made. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a running bet trying to predict when the first little Salvatore would make his or her arrival."

He took a moment and stared out his bedroom window at the creek running past the house. "We'd even started clearing land at the edge of my father's property for our house. Clara loved the little clearing in the middle of the only wooded section of the Salvatore land. She liked to talk about watching our children splashing in the creek someday."

"That creek?" Elena pointed out the window. "Your house was going to be here?"

Damon nodded. "Almost exactly on this spot." He cleared his throat. "And then smallpox hit Mystic Falls. I'd had it when I was two. I was safe, but Stefan hadn't. Clara got sick. Everybody knows that we had to protect Stefan." His lips formed a grim line. "I wasn't allowed to go see her. She died, and I never told her goodbye." He reached for Elena's hand and entwined his fingers with hers. "I was never the same after that. My father had spent a great deal of time and effort making certain that Stefan and I had been placed on the unsuitable list for the Confederate Army. A few months after we buried Clara, he decided that perhaps joining the army was exactly what I needed to snap out of the depression I'd found myself in. It didn't have the desired effect."

He pulled her hand to his face and kissed her palm. "I never thought I'd find someone else who'd love me. I think that's why I fell so quickly for Katherine - she made the whole vampire thing so appealing. I'd never have to risk loosing someone I loved again. I never thought I'd find someone else willing to have a future with me."

He tilted her chin up to look into his eyes. "And then I met you." He ran his hand along Elena's side and rested atop her stomach, smiling as the baby kicked at his gentle touch.

"You want to keep the baby?" Her chocolate brown eyes pooled with emotion.

"I promise I'll be with you every step of the way. I want to keep our baby." Damon leaned down and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips.

Elena's phone sang with an incoming call, and she frowned at the interruption. Reaching for the phone to silence it, she blinked in shock at the name on the caller ID. "It's Bonnie."


	11. Chapter 11

Author's note: Whoa, two chapters in two days...don't pass out. It's true. Fasten your seatbelts - this is the last "real" chapter. After this, we just have the epilogue.

A couple of notes since there's been some confusion on the subject:

Bonnie's call was a surprise since she'd been in a coma for 9 months. When Damon spoke of needing help from the witches, not only did he need their help overall, but he wanted them to help wake Bonnie up.

I've had several comments about Elena questioning whether or not she wanted the baby. Remember, she was adopted, and John said that Isobel giving the baby up was the most difficult thing she'd ever done. Elena KNOWS that Stefan wants the baby. His plan is to kill her daughter. No matter how much she might want the baby, she's trying to decide if the little girl would be safer hidden very far away from her. Damon has been very "two steps forward and one step back" throughout her history with him. Yes, he's in love with her, but she's not certain if he's ready to take the step to suddenly become a "family vamp." Now that point's been settled and they won't be revisiting it.

Warnings: character death, sensitive subject matter, language, violence, adult content, disturbing imagery

Rating: Mature

Only the plot is mine. I'm just borrowing the characters for a bit. I'll put them back, I promise.

* * *

><p>(I know some of y'all skip the author's notes, so I wanted to make sure you had a chance to be appropriately warned. This chapter isn't gory, but it has some possibly disturbing content. I've tried to gloss over it - while still giving an idea as to what has taken place. Just remember, in Klaus' words, Stefan once killed an entire village.)<p>

* * *

><p>Damon ran his hand over the sweat-slicked skin of Elena's lower back as he leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on her lips. The childbirth instructor had told them that as long as the mom-to-be felt up to it, continuing with the activity that had earned their place in the class was good for her. Damon was <em>very <em>interested in Elena's health. She nuzzled her still-flushed cheek against his bare chest and looked up at him with a satisfied smile. He lazily circled her nipple with his thumb and smirked. "See, isn't this more fun than the 80s dance?' He trailed his hand lower over belly and was rewarded with a gentle nudge. "She thinks so."

Elena draped her leg across his. "You're not going to get an argument from me." Tilting her face up, she looked at him in anticipation of another kiss.

"After all, Lisa did say that labor was going to be a marathon, we just have six more weeks to get ready." He answered her request with his lips. "Have to keep your stamina up."

Elena laughed as her hand rested on his bare hip. "Not sure if my endurance level can get much better." Ever since Dr. Morton had cleared her to resume _all _activities following Stefan's attack, they'd spent a lot of time in training for the big event. "But Caroline's not going to agree with you about the dance." Elena leaned away from Damon, craning her neck so she could look at the clock. "And if we're not there in thirty more minutes, she's going come through that door and drag me out."

"I'd like to see her try." He gently rolled her to her back and crawled down the bed, leaving a trail of kisses in his path. A knock at the front door earned a feral growl as his teeth lightly grazed the skin between her breasts. "I didn't mean that literally." His mouth closed over her swollen breast, and he was rewarded with a groan from low in Elena's chest. She tangled her fingers in his hair and pulled him even more tightly against her. He lapped at her nipple, and it mounded beneath his touch.

The knocking continued but increased in volume.

"We're going to have to take care of that." Elena tapped his shoulder.

Damon peered up at her and shook his head. "They'll go away." He returned his attention to her, laving her nipple with his tongue as his hand strayed to the curls between her legs.

"Elena? Damon?" Alaric's voice had an edge of concern as he called out from below.

"You're the one who gave him a key." Elena pushed at Damon's shoulders.

Damon's glare in the direction of the doorway could easily have stopped anyone in their tracks. "If he's smart, he'll leave."

"Are you here? Neither of you are answering your phones. I'm about to come upstairs." Alaric's voice was louder. "Yell if y'all are doing something I don't need to see."

"Later." He gave her chest a parting kiss as his fingers slid through the warmth beneath her curls. "Just a second, Ric." He pushed off from the bed and reached for his jeans, lying in the doorway where they'd been discarded after Elena had arrived home from school. The pregnancy guides might say that a woman's desire for intimacy decreases as her due date nears, but no one had told Elena's body that, and Damon was truly thankful. "What's so urgent?" He ran one hand through his hair to tame it as he reached down and plucked his shirt from the stairwell. "I was going to see you at the dance in an hour."

"Liz is right behind me." Alaric glanced up the stairwell and lowered his voice to little above a whisper. "Is Elena where she can hear us?"

The sound of the shower from above answered him.

Alaric led the way to the game room and flicked on the television as Sheriff Forbes and Caroline entered the house without waiting for an invitation. Flipping through the channels, each displayed virtually the same scene. A reporter stood in front of small brown school building, bright yellow crime scene tape formed an effective perimeter where adults stood clinging to each other. _Breaking News _crawled across the bottom of the screen.

"And for those of you just joining us, I'm Scott Putnam reporting from this gruesome scene. Once again, we advise that our youngest viewers leave the room during this report." The man visibly paled as a stretcher with a small body bag rolled behind him.

"What the hell?" Damon looked between the three others in the room.

"Keep watching." Liz choked out, staring at the screen.

"Law enforcement officials are still in the early stages of investigating the scene. A Boy Scout pack was meeting in the school library while five to ten other students remained in the childcare program at the school." The reporter turned around as a commotion came from the front of the building. A heavyset man in a blue police uniform approached the cluster of reporters. "I believe Sheriff Zuckerman is about to give a statement." The camera panned to the gray haired man's pasty face.

"Hello. I'm Sheriff Bradley Zuckerman. I've been working here in Milsap for almost ten years not. I don't believe I've ever seen a crime like this in our country's history." He shifted in apparent unease at the bank of cameras facing him. Reporters called out questions in a cacophony of noise reminiscent of seagulls feeding on the beach. "The investigation is still ongoing. But, we want to bring you up to date with as much information as we have. At approximately 4:30 this afternoon, the assailant, or group of assailants, entered the building, killing the receptionist before breaking the lock to the inner door and gaining access to the rest of the building. Due to the time of day, most of the students had gone home. However, two groups of children and a handful of staff still remained." The man choked and wiped a tear from his eye as a woman behind the police tape collapsed to the ground. "The attack was swift - no one was able to escape." He cleared his throat and wiped a heavy paw-like hand across his eyes. "While we normally wouldn't release something of this nature until we were farther along in the investigation, due to the nature of the crime, time is of the essence. The school's security cameras captured this image..."

"Stefan." While those assembled in the room had their attention fixed on the screen, no one had noticed Elena's presence. Now, looking at the undeniable image on the screen in front of her, she clapped her hand over her mouth as yet another small, black bag was rolled out of the building by law enforcement officials. While the camera panned the crowd to catch every minute reaction. "We have to stop him." Her brown eyes fixed intently on Damon's ice blue ones. "_You_," she paused for emphasis, "have to stop him."

"That's at least two hours from here." Alaric frowned in Elena's direction.

"Not the way he drives." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked back and forth between the two men.

Damon shook his head as he walked behind the couch and placed his hands on her shoulders. She'd been in such a hurry to get downstairs when she heard the voices coming from below that she hadn't stopped to dry her hair, and now her shirt was almost soaked through. "I'm not leaving you."

She turned and stared at the television screen. The new station displayed the first photos of the victims. The tiny red-haired boy smiled at the viewers in what appeared to be a snapshot from his first day of school. She turned her doe eyes on him - fully aware of what she was asking him to do. "You have to."

* * *

><p>"And what's your plan when we get there?" Alaric watched Damon's face in profile and tried to ignore the speedometer. Thankfully, Liz loaned them a Mystic Falls' police cruiser and had radioed the departments along their route letting them know that she was sending a team who'd be traveling just under the speed of light through their town. They'd been driving for almost an hour and, so far, no one had tried to stop them.<p>

Damon's fingers tightened on the wheel. He puckered his lips and allowed himself to glance away from the road for an instant. "I'm up for suggestions."

Alaric shifted his bag of supplies at his feet - not sure what in his arsenal would take down an out-of-control Stefan. The last time they'd met him, he'd tossed Damon through the air like a paper airplane and only Bonnie had been able to drop the younger Salvatore in his tracks. Today, they'd left her behind with Elena. "Nothing will take down Stefan if he's out of control."

Damon gave a half-nod to indicate his agreement before ignoring the speed they were traveling at and doing a u-turn in the middle of the highway. Alaric gripped the back of the seat for support as the car fishtailed wildly out of control for an instant. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Damn!" Damon proceeded to allow a fountain of curses spew from his mouth as he clenched his jaw. "Why?" He slammed his fist on the dashboard, creating a hairline crack. "Damn it!"

"Damon?"

"He was in control." The speedometer topped out as Damon pushed the car to the limit. The scenery was little more than a blur. Alaric was surprised a sonic boom didn't follow in their wake. "No veins around the eyes...no fangs." He growled and fought for his own sense of control. "He _let us _see him. He was looking at the camera. He knew we'd follow him if he attacked a school." Damon tugged his phone from his pocket. "Stefan lured us away. He's going after Elena tonight."

* * *

><p>Elena dropped into the chair next to Bonnie at the side of the dance and pulled the lime-green scrunchie from her side ponytail. "I'm still not sure how I let you and Caroline talk me into this." She rolled her eyes in her friend's direction.<p>

"Like Caroline said, we're keeping your mind off things." Bonnie shifted in her chair to better face Elena. The only lingering effect of being in a coma for almost nine months seemed to be the fact that Bonnie still tired easily. When they'd arrived at the school, she danced for a while, but she soon retreated to the row of chairs normally occupied by the wallflowers. "Just think, this way you can pretend to dance while really pacing the floor instead of wearing a hole in your own carpet."

"That obvious?"

Bonnie smiled and laughed. "Only to the ones who really know you." Looking through the crowd, she nodded to someone in the distance.

Elena leaned forward, placed her hands on her knees, and let out a long sigh as her face contorted in discomfort.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie stared at her friend in concern.

"Practice contraction." Elena pressed on a muscle in her side and flinched. "They're becoming...very effective." She let out a slow breath as the pressure eased. "Whew!" She blinked and watched the dancers around her move to the music. "I know Caroline means well, but I'm just not really in the mood to be here."

"No sneaking out." Jeremy placed an unopened can of soda next to his sister. "Pretty sure they spiked the punch." He nodded to the drink. "If you're thirsty, might want that."

Elena smiled gratefully at her brother as she wiped her forehead. Not only was the gym stifling hot, her feet had given out at least a half-hour before. "Thanks," she was quiet for a moment, "but if I'm going to drink this, I'm going to need to make a quick stop. I'll be right back." She stood up and began making her way to the gym doors with Bonnie at her heels.

"Hey, Bonnie!" Dana rushed to the girl's side and wrapped her arms around the smaller teen. "I'm so happy to see you here!"

"Um, thanks." Bonnie pulled out of Dana's embrace.

"You know, we were so worried about you. I can't believe you almost drowned in the Lockwood tank. I mean, I've been swimming there all my life." Dana stood next to Bonnie and rested her hand on the witch's arm. "Were you scared?"

Bonnie peeled Dana's hand from her shoulder. The girl needed a serious lesson in boundaries. "I don't really remember anything."

Dana clapped a hand over her mouth. "Of course you don't. I didn't mean to be rude. You probably don't like talking about it."

"No. It isn't that. I...just don't remember." Bonnie gave a sheepish grin in the hope that Dana would get the idea that she didn't want to talk. "I was actually on my way..." Bonnie pointed to the door leading to the restrooms.

"I'm so sorry!" Dana bubbled with apologies. "Of course you need to...um, go. Don't let me keep you here."

"I won't." Bonnie pushed through the double doors into the hallway and looked around for Elena. "Elena?" The darkened hallway was quiet and empty as she made her way to the restroom. Tugging the door to the girls' restroom open, she was filled with a sense of dread. "Elena?"

Elena was gone.

* * *

><p>The car's tires left a trail of rubber as Damon screeched into the high school parking lot. Fighting against his desire to blur through the darkness, he waited until Alaric had gathered his bag from the floorboard, all the while hoping they wouldn't be using the contents - at least not tonight.<p>

_Footloose _echoed through the gym doors as strobe lights flashed overhead. Damon and Alaric slowed to a fast walk as they entered the overcrowded room.

"Good evening Mr. Saltzman! You're a little late." Mrs. Lindly-Meek tapped her watch and glared in his direction. She turned to Damon and her lips puckered as if she'd been sucking on a lemon. "I don't believe you're on the chaperones list."

"Um, he's with me." Alaric didn't even break his stride as he pushed past the older teacher with Damon at his side.

"Where are ..." Damon looked anxiously around the room for Elena, but one look at Bonnie's face as she ran toward Jeremy answered his unfinished question.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry, Honey." Stefan squared off with Elena in the cafeteria as she leaned over, panting for breath. The ease with which he overtook her and knocked her to the floor showed the chase had been for her benefit only. He held a finger to his lips. "If you scream, I'll kill everyone out there." They stayed silent for a moment and listened for the pulse of music from the dance. "You know I can do it. Just stay quiet." He'd been toying with her like a lion stalking a mouse.<p>

Now he had her pinned by the tail.

"I can imagine it isn't easy to run in your condition." For every step Elena took away from him, he countered...and drew a little closer each time. "You're due in six weeks?"

Elena panted as she tried to stand completely upright. She had to keep him talking. That was the only chance she had for the others to realize she was gone. "How." _Pant. _ "Did." _Pant._ "You."_ Pant_. "Know." _ Pant._ "That?"

Stefan looked at her in amusement. "Not that many doctors in town, Elena." He circled her like a satellite on a degrading orbit. "Just had to keep compelling them until I found the right one." He stopped his movement toward her and cocked his head to the side. "Dr. Morton was more than helpful. She even explained exactly when the earliest the baby would be able to arrive and still be able to breathe easily on her own."

Elena's blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"

Stefan laughed - a cold, unfamiliar sound. "I knew I'd have to act before you could hide her." He frowned slightly. "That is what you'd planned to do, isn't it? It's what Isobel did with you. Keeping her with you would make it too easy...and I couldn't take the risk you'd really be able to hide her from me." He reached out and touched her cheek. "I'll try to make this as painless as possible." Leaning over, he brushed a kiss across her forehead.

He thought she was going to go without a fight. He was wrong.

Elena ducked out of his grasp and bolted for the doorway, pulling the fire alarm as she ran. She hit the crash bar at a run and was immediately yanked off her feet when he caught hold of the back of her shirt. "I _was _going to make it painless." Elena shrieked and thrashed uselessly against him as his fangs pierced her neck.

"Let go of her." Damon flew through the doorway, his face morphing as he was fixed on Elena's already groggy expression as her blood dripped from Stefan's chin.

"If you insist." Stefan flung Elena at the wall, and she limply slid to the ground with a sickening thud. He gave a cocky smile as he faced off with his brother. Launching himself at Damon with a roar, he didn't notice Bonnie and Caroline's entrance into the room.

The brothers were locked in mortal combat as they rolled across the cafeteria floor. Stefan had size and strength on his side, but Damon was fighting for more than his own survival. He kicked at Stefan and attempted to push his brother off of him. Stefan wrapped his fingers around Damon's throat and laughed.

Caroline looked up as she crouched in front of Elena's still form. "Bonnie!" She snapped at her friend.

"I'm trying." Bonnie squinted the effort of trying to take down Stefan.

The two brothers growled as each attempted to get the other hand. Stefan leapt to his feet, dragging Damon with him. The younger brother propelled his sibling into the bank of folded cafeteria tables, causing them to crash down like so many bowling pins. He sped back to Elena's side, leaving a handprint in the pool of blood beneath her neck.

"Oh no you don't." Caroline transformed and took on Stefan as a stake flew through the air from Alaric's crossbow. Stefan knocked her to the ground as Damon slowly got to his feet and re-entered the fray.

The cries and animalistic growls of the three vampires locked in battle echoed through the building as Stefan made another attempt to reach Elena. He seized her by the arm as he froze and arced backwards before falling to the floor.

"Elena?" Damon crawled to her side, his left arm hanging limp and useless. "Elena!"

Bonnie dropped to her knees and leaned over Elena. "She's not breathing."

* * *

><p>Damon leaned against the wall in the mostly-darkened corridor, still trying to process the events of the past hours. He read the display on the clock at the end of the hall and shook his head. Less than six hours had passed since Elena had been smiling up at him in his bed.<p>

When the paramedics wheeled the gurney into the emergency room, Elena was beyond lifeless. She wasn't breathing at the school, and somewhere along the way, her heart had stopped beating. Giving her his blood hadn't worked to repair the injuries, but he didn't think she'd been able to swallow.

He'd never felt more helpless than when the doctor met him outside of the operating room, telling him he might have to make a difficult choice.

How could he choose between two halves of his future?

Damon stared the doctor down and commanded him to save both of them.

Now he'd spent the last 60 minutes watching as the monitor kept track of her pulse and respiration. The only reason he wasn't holding her hand now was because the nurse said she needed a little privacy as she checked on Elena. He thought she just needed an excuse for him not staring at her while she worked.

"Damon?" A soft voice carried down the hallway. "I saw Bonnie in the waiting room. She said I'd find you here." Lucy came to stand at Damon's side. She nodded to the closed doorway. "How's Elena?"

"Breathing." Damon wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"I'm sorry she was caught up in all this." Lucy seemed honestly regretful.

"You mean that not only was she key to breaking one curse, but that some other part of the curse made sure that she got pregnant with a child that was the key to breaking it?" Damon fought to control the volume of his words.

Lucy gave a half-nod. "And I am truly sorry for what happened with your brother. He was unable to fight against his two warring sides within himself." Damon stiffened. "But I have to ask you a question...did you mean what you said that night on the road?"

Damon looked at her in confusion. "What night?"

Lucy stared him down. "You remember." Her eyes peered deeply into his as she prompted him. "Your biggest regret..."

"I don't have time for this." He began to make his way back into Elena's room.

Lucy caught hold of his arm. "Actually, you do." She refused to release him. "Did you mean the words you said?"

Of course witch spirits would have been on the street that night with Jessica. He rubbed his eyes in fatigue as he tried to decide what to say. "Yes. I meant it."

Lucy nodded as she backed away. "I've been sent here with a message. We are the guardians of the natural world. The circle has been broken. The last of the hybrids is gone, and now the Petrova curse is over. No more dopplegangers." Her lips curled into a grin. "We also watch over Mystic Falls. You made quite an impression on us. More than one curse has been broken tonight."

His brain too tired to fully comprehend her words, he simply said, "Thank you." He started to continue, but an agonized cry drifted into the hallway. Damon spun around in response to Elena's voice. When he turned back, Lucy was gone. Without waiting for the nurse's permission, he hurried into the room.

"Miss Gilbert. Miss Gilbert." The nurse struggled to calm Elena down as she fought to sit up in the bed.

"Elena." Damon stroked her cheek as she ran her hand over her flat stomach.

"Damon, he said he was going to take her. Where is she? Where's the baby?" She pulled against the nurse's restraining arms.

"Shh..." Damon reached for his phone and held the display in front of her face. He tapped the screen. "She's okay. You're both okay."

As Elena's eyes focused on the screen, she stopped fighting and looked at the photo in amazement. In it, Damon stood with a tiny pink bundle in his arms. As her breathing slowly returned to normal, she realized he was currently wearing blue hospital scrubs. "You've held her?"

"All four pounds." He nodded and advanced to the next picture. The baby's eyes were closed tightly and her fists were tiny balls. "She's absolutely beautiful."

"Would you like to see her in person?" The nurse broke into their conversation.

"Can I?" Elena tried to get out of bed and moaned in pain.

"Not so fast." Damon smoothed her hair. "You had an emergency c-section two hours ago."

The nurse stared up at the monitors overhead. "You're surprisingly stable." She nodded once to herself. "I think it'll be alright. I'll go get her."

Damon pulled a chair up to Elena's bedside, never letting go of her hand. "How are you feeling?"

Elena blinked slowly, the adrenaline rush beginning to wear off. "Tired." Her eyes threatened to stay closed. She grimaced. "Dizzy." Slowly the events of the night came back to her. Her last conscious memory was of flying through the air...and crunching painfully against the wall. "Damon?" She couldn't voice the question, but she didn't have to, the fear in her eyes spoke for itself.

"He's gone." Damon kissed her palm. "I didn't do it." He ran a fingertip over her arm. "Or I don't think I did...we're not sure who used the stake." He reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek. "You had a lot of people fighting for you tonight."

A soft knock came from the doorway. "Mom, are you ready to meet your little girl?" The nurse pushed a bassinet in front of her, a wailing pink bundle making her presence known.

"Is she alright?" Elena strained to sit up from her pillow to catch her first glimpse of her daughter. Watching her struggle, Damon helped Elena sit up higher in the bed as the nurse carried the little one to her side.

"Tiny. She's just having a little trouble keeping herself warm." The woman nodded to an incubator set up in the back of Elena's room. "I'll get that set up now that you're awake. She can stay in the room with you for a few hours, then I think all of you need some sleep." She placed the shrieking baby in Elena's arms. "She's quite a fighter."

"Like her mother." Damon kissed the top of Elena's head. The story that Elena had survived the attack of the Jack the Ripper killer had already made the news. Reporters assembled outside the hospital, waiting for anyone who seemed to know Elena to talk with them. Liz made a statement some time ago, but Damon didn't know what she said. The words on the television in the waiting room all ran together while he'd been awaiting news of Elena and the baby's condition.

The nurse ran her hand gently over the baby's dark hair. "She made sure we knew she was hungry."

As her daughter rooted into Elena's breast, she stroked the infant's cheek with a single fingertip. "She's so small." Tears sparkled in her eyes as the baby curled into her chest. Damon helped Elena adjust her hospital gown before the baby latched on instantly. Elena flinched at the unfamiliar sensation.

"We've been making her mad...waiting for you to wake up." The nurse watched as the baby began furiously sucking. "I know she's a little early. Do you two have a name picked out so we can stop calling her Baby Gilbert?"

Damon nodded and looked at Elena for confirmation. "We do." Elena watched as her daughter's frenzied assault on her nipple slowed and her eyes drifted closed. She reached out and stroked the baby's fist. "Jenna."


	12. Chapter 12

Author's note: Well, here it is. The end of the road for this story. I have to admit, when I posted the ultra-angsty one-shot, I never anticipated we'd end up here. I've really enjoyed the journey, though, and I hope you have too.

* * *

><p>Damon pulled his car into the driveway and rolled to a stop before driving into the garage to avoid crushing the bright pink bicycle parked on its side just before the entrance to the garage. "Jenna..." He muttered under his breath as he shook his head and pushed the car door closed behind him.<p>

"Daddy! You're home!" Jenna flew out the front door, her curly black pigtails bobbing with each bouncing step. She jumped at Damon, and he caught her in midair and swept her into his arms. He rested his forehead against hers and she absently ran two fingers through the hair over his ear, tugging at the first strands of silver. "Did you put glitter in your hair?"

"No." He smoothed his hair and laughed - so much for being the eternal stud. "That's not glitter."

"Did you bring me anything?"

"Why would you think I'd bring you anything?"

She smiled widely, revealing the dimple in her chubby cheek as her bright blue eyes sparkled with laughter. "Daddy." She began to pat his jacket pockets. "You _always _bring me something."

"Were you good at preschool?" He rested her weight over his hip as he pulled his rolling carry on bag out of the back seat of the car. Jenna giggled and her dimples deepened. "Should I be worried?"

"I was good. I promise." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Just ask Mommy."

"Where is your mommy?" Damon looked around for Elena as he carried his daughter up the front sidewalk. Normally his wife tracked his flights and called the minute his plane landed. He'd been on the ground for almost an hour, and he hadn't heard a word from her.

"Shh!" Jenna held her index finger in front of her lips. "Mommy's asleep."

He frowned. Elena never slept well while he was out of town. She'd been irritable on the phone last night, but she seemed relieved when he reminded her this was his last trip of the school year. His "Bringing History to Life" series of lectures made him a much-sought-after speaker. He tried to just be gone one week a month, though. When he got into debates with professors during late night dinners at the colleges, he had to stifle his desire to let them know that he was alive for most of the the events he spoke about during his presentations. "It's time for dinner. Should we go wake her up?"

Jenna's eyes widened as she scurried out of his grip. "Let's do it." She gave a conspiratorial grin as she stood on the bottom stair.

"Gently." Damon cautioned. Even after all these years, Elena still fought first and focused later when someone frightened her.

Jenna scampered into the living room and caught hold of their black and white spotted cat. "Socks can help."

Together, Damon and Jenna made their way up the stairs. He was more than a little concerned that he'd arrived home without waking Elena. Walking into the bedroom, he realized she was still very soundly asleep. Still wearing her long blue and white sundress, she was curled onto her side, her dark hair tied in a knot at the base of her neck. As Jenna crawled onto one side of the bed with Socks in tow, he knelt next to Elena and placed a gentle kiss at the nape of her neck. "Sweetheart?" He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers.

Elena rolled onto her back and her long lashes fluttered open. "Was I asleep?"

"For a whole movie!" Jenna bounced on the bed. "You missed _Elmo Saves Christmas."_

"Oh, the horror." Elena teased her daughter as she yawned and sat up in the bed.

Damon turned to his daughter. "Your present's in my laptop bag. Why don't you see if you can find it?"

Jenna leapt off the bed and onto the hardwood floor. Her hurried footsteps echoed down the stairwell.

"Are you feeling alright?" Damon wrapped his arms around Elena and trapped her lips with his before she could answer.

"More than alright." She purred against his lips before turning to look at the clock. "Which is why Jeremy and Bonnie should be here any minute to pick Jenna up for the night."

"We're going out to eat?" Damon's brow furrowed as he ran a hand up Elena's back.

"Among other things." Elena ran a hand over Damon's chest just before the doorbell rang. Elena's lips curled in a grin. "Jenna's bag is on the couch."

Damon stared at Elena in surprise. They normally had movies and popcorn the first night he came back from a trip. "She's spending the night?"

"Mmm hmm." Elena slid off the bed and began to make her way down the stairs. Jenna spent a few nights a month with her aunt and uncle - normally to give Elena support while Damon was out of town. This was an unexpected surprise.

"Uncle Jeremy's here!" Socks scampered out of the way and sought refuge under the couch as Jenna dragged her rolling suitcase toward the front door. "Mommy! Daddy!"

"Hey, Jer!" Elena pulled the door open and waved to her brother.

"You ready Little Miss?" Jeremy reached down and took hold of the Elmo suitcase.

Jenna ran to Bonnie's side and danced around her aunt. "Are we going to roast marshmallows tonight?"

"I don't know." Bonnie eyed her husband as she reached for her niece's hand. "Do we have any firewood?"

"We just might." Jeremy took hold of Jenna's free hand and swung her through the air. "I'll bring her home about noon tomorrow?" He raised an eyebrow in question.

"That sounds great, thanks." Elena squatted down and kissed the top of her daughter's head.

Damon followed the trio to the car and leaned in the open window as Bonnie fastened Jenna's seatbelt. "Have fun." He kissed the tip of his daughter's nose before backing away. "What prompted this?"

Elena reached out and took hold of Damon's tie and led him inside the house. Kicking the door closed, she pushed him against the wall before capturing his lips with hers. When they were each fighting for breath, she pulled away. "We're celebrating."

"You sold the manuscript?" Damon smiled widely.

"There was never a question about that."

"Then what?"

Her cheeks flushed a vivid pink as she looked up into his eyes. "Take a guess."

"You're not." Damon froze in surprise. While he'd greatly enjoyed their three years of trying, over the past few months, they'd decided that Jenna was destined to be an only child.

"Oh yes." Elena rested a hand on her stomach. The last hint of any curse lingering over her family was truly broken. "I took the test this morning." Damon's hand joined hers. "Two pink lines."


End file.
